
- 



THE 

GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS 



OR, THE 

HOLY NATURE. AND DIVINE HARMONY 

OF THE 

CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 

CONTRASTED WITH THE 

IMMORALITY AND ABSURDITY 

' "f* **.•' > .'of, >\ ; % ,„"/,■ ... . 

T> E I S M. 



by ANDREW FULLER, d. d. 



paying his hand on the Bible, he ivould fay t " There is true fhilofoph^ 
This is the ivifdom that /peaks to the heart. A bad life is the only 
grand objefiion to this book" KARL of ROCHESTER. 



Bofton : 

PRINTED BY AND FOR MANNING AND LORING, 
NO. 2, CORNHILL. 

......tat m 

fuir, 1803. 



Contents 



PAGE 

Introduction, 9 

PART THE FIRST; 
In which the holy Nature of the ChrifHan 
Religion is contrafted with the Immorali- 
ty of Deifm. 

CHAP. I. 

Chriftianity reveals a God, glorious in Holinefs ; but 
Deifm, though it acknowledges a God, yet denies or 
overlooks his moral character, - - - iS 

CHAP. II. 

Chriftianity teaches us to acknowledge God, and to de- 
vote ourfelves to his fervice : but Deifm, though it 
confefTes one Supreme Being, yet refufes to worfhip 
him, - - - - - . - 23 

CHAP. III. 

The Chriftian ftandard of Morality is enlarged, and 
free from impurity : but Deifm confines our obliga- 
tions to thofe duties which refpect our own fpecies, 
and greatly palliates vice with regard to a breach 
even of them, - 29 

CHAP. IV. 

Chriftianity furnifhes motives to a virtuous life, which 
Deifm either rejects, or attempts to undermine, 42 

CHAP. V. 

The lives of thofe who reject the Gofpel will not bear 
a comparifon with theirs who embrace it, 54, 

CHAP. VI. 
Chriftianity has not only produced good effects in thofe 
who cordially believe it, but has given to the morals 
of fociety at large, a tone, which Deifm, fo far as it 
operates^ goes to counteract, - « - 75 



Contents 



CHAR VIT. face 
Chriftianity is a fource of happinefs to individuals and 
to fociety : but Delfm leaves both the one and the 
other without hope, • 96 

PART THE SECOND; 
In which the Harmony of the Chriftian Re- 
ligion is confidered as an Evidence of its 
Divinity. 

CHAP, I. 

The harmony of Scripture with hiftoric fa£l, evinced by 
the fulfilment of prophecy, - - - 111 

CHAP. II. 

The harmony of Scripture with truth, evinced from 
its agreement with the dictates of an enlightened con- 
fcience. and the refult of the clofeft obfervation, 121 

CHAP. III. 
The harmony of Scripture with its own profefiions, ar- 
gued from the fpirit and ftyle in which it is written, 13© 

CHAP. IV. 

The confiitency of the Chriftian doctrine, particularly 
that of faivaiion through a Mediator, withfober Reafon, 141 

CHAP. V. 

The confiftency of the Scripture doctrine of Redemp- 
tion with the modern opinion of the magnitude of 
Creation, - - - - - - 161 

CONCLUDING ADDRESSES. 

To Deals, - - . - - - - 185 

To the Jews, * - - - - 195 

To Chriftiaas, - - - - - - 200 



PREFACE. 



J HE Jlruggle between religion and irreligion has exijled 
in the world in all ages : and if there be two oppfite in" 
terefls which divide its inhabitants, the kingdom of Satan, 
and the kingdom of God, it is reafonable to expetl that the 
contefl will continue till one of them be exterminated. The 
peaceful nature of Chrifianity does not require that we 

Jhould make peace with its adverfaries, or ceafe to repel 
their attacks, or even that we Jhould acl merely on the 
defenfive : On the contrary, we are required to make ufe 
of thofe weapons of the divine warfare with which we 
are furmjhed for the pulling down of fir on g- holds, cafting 
down imaginations , and every high thing that exalteth it" 

felf againfl the knowledge of God, and bringing into cap" 
tivity every thought to the obedience of Chrift. 

The oppofition of the prefent age has not been confined to 
the lefs important points of Chrijhanity, nor even to its fir/l 
principles : Chriflianity itfelf is treated as impoflure. The 
fame things, it is true, have been frequently advanced, and 
as frequently repelled, in former ages ; but the adverfaries 
of the go/pel of late, encouraged, it Jhould feem, 'by the tern" 
per of the times, have renewed the attack with redoubled 
vigour. One of their moft popular writers , hoping to avail 



Vi PREFACE. 

himfelf of this circumfance, is p leafed to entitle his per- 

for mance The Age of Reafon. This writer is aware 

that flattery is one of the mofi Juccefsful means of gaining 

admifjion to the human mind ; fuch a compliment there* 

fore, to the prefent age, was, doultlefs, confide red as a 

niafier-firoke of policy. Nor is Mr. Paine lefs obliging to 

himfelf than to his readers, but takes it for granted that 

the caufe for which he pleads is that of reafon and truth. 

The co'fi 'derate reader, however, may remark, that thofe 

writers who are not afbamed to beg the quefiion in the title 

page, are feldom the mojl liberal or impartial in the execu* 

tion of the work, 
u 

One thing which has contributed to the advantage of In- 
fidelity is, the height to which political difputes have arifen, 
and the degree in which they have inter eficd the pafftons 
and prejudices of mankind. Thofe who favour the fenti- 
ments of a fit of men in one thing, will be in danger of 
thinking favour ably of them in others ; at leaf they will not 
he apt to view them in fo bad a light as if they had been ad- 
vanced by perfons of different fentiments in other things as 
well as in religion. It is true there may be nothing more 
friendly to infidelity in the nature of one political fyftem than 
another, nothing that can jufiify pro/ "effing Chrifiians in ac- 
cufing one another, merely on account of a difference of this 
kind, of favouring the inter efis of atheifm and ir religion : 
neverthelefs, it becomes thofe who think favourably of the po- 
litical principles of infidels, to take heed lefl they be infenfibly 
drawn away to think lightly of religion. All the nations 
of the earth, and all the difputes on the befi or worfl mode 
of government^ compared with thisj are lefs than nothing 
and vanity, 

To this it may be added, that the eagernefs with which 
•men engage in political difputes^ take which fide they may % 



PREFACE. 



is unfavourable to a zealous adherence to the go/pel. Any 
mere worldly objecl, if it become the principal thing which 
occupies our thoughts and affeclions, will weaken our at- 
tachment to religion ; and if once we become cool and in* 
different to this, we are in the high road to infidelity. 
There are cafes no doubt relating to civil government, in 
which it is our duty to acl, and that with firmnefs : but 
to make fuch things the chief objecl of our attention, or the 
principal topic -of our converfation, is both finful and injuri- 
ous. Many a promifing characler in the religious world 
-has by thefe things been utterly ruined. 

The writer of the following pages is not induced to offer 
them to the public eye from an apprehenfion that the Church 
of Chrift is in danger. Neither the downfal of Popery, 
nor the triumph of infidels, as though they had hereby over- 
turned Chriflianity, have ever been to him the caufe of a 
moments uneaftnefs. If Chri/lianity be of God, as he veri- 
ly believes it to be, they cannot overthrow it. He mujl be 
poffeffed of but little faith who can tremble, though in a 
form, for the fafety of the veffel which contains his Lord , 
and Mafier. There would be one argument lefs for the 
divinity of the Scriptures, if the fame powers which gave 
exiftence to the Anti-Chriflian dominion had not been em- 
ployed in taking it away.* But though truth has nothing 
to fear, it does not follow that its friends Jhould be inactive. 
The Lord confers an honour upon hisfervants in condefcend* 

* The powers of Europe, Cgnified by the Ten Horns, or Kings, 
into which the Roman empire fhould be divided, were to give their 
kingdoms to the Beaft They did fo ; and France particularly took 
the lead. The fame powers, it is predicted, fhall hate the Whore* 
and burn her flefh with fire. They have begun to do fo; and in 
this bufmefs alfo France has taken the lead, Rev. xvii. ia, 13, i6# 
17, 18. 



PREFACE. 



ing to make ufe of their humble efforts in preferring and 
promoting his interef in the world. If the prefent attempt 
may he thus accepted and honoured by Him to whofe name 
it is humbly dedicated, the writer will receive a rich 
reward. 



Kettering, 
Cfiober 10, 1799* 



■INTRODUCTION. 



The controverfies between believers and unbeliev- 
ers are confined to a narrower ground than thofe of 
profefled believers with one another. Scripture tefli- 
mony, any farther than as it bears the character of 
truth, and approves itfelf to the confcience, or is pro- 
duced for the purpofe of explaining the nature of 
genuine Chriftianity, is here out of the queftion. 
Reofon is the common ground on which they mud 
meet to decide their contefts. On this ground, Chrif- 
•tian writers have fuccefsfully clofed with their antag- 
onifts ; fo much fo, that of late ages, notwithstanding 
all their boaft of reafon, not one in ten of them can 
be kept to the fair and honourable ufe of this we'aporu 
On the contrary, they are driven to fubftitute dark in- 
finuation, low wit, profane ridicule, and grofs abufe. 
Such were the weapons of Shaftefbury, Tindaly Morgan , 
Bolingbroke, Voltaire^ Hume, and Gibbon f and fuch are 
the weapons of the author of The Age of Reafon.— 
Amongft various well- written performances in anfwer 
to their feveral productions, the reader may fee a con- 
cife and able refutation of the greater part of them in 
Leland's Review of the Deifical Writers. 

It is not my defign to go over the various topics 
ufually difcuffed in this controverfy, but to feledt a 
fingle one, which I conceive has not been fo fully at- 
tended to but that it may yet be confidered with ad* 
vantage. The internal evidence which Chriftianity 
poflefles, particularly in refpedt to its holy nature, 
B 



so INTRODUCTION. 

and divine Harmony, will be the fubject of the prefeitt 
inquiry. 

Mr. Paine, after the example of many others, en- 
deavours to difcredit the Scriptures by reprefenting 
the number of hands through which they have paffed, 
and the uncertainty of the hiftorical evidence by which 
they are fuppcrted. " It is a matter altogether of un- 
" certainty to us, he fays, whether fuch of the writings 
" as now appear under the names of the Old and New 
" Te (lament, are in the fame (late in which thofe col- 
" lectors fay they found them ; or whether they added, 
" altered, abridged, or dreffed them up."* It is a 
good work, which many writers have undertaken, to 
prove the validity of the Chrillian hiflory ; and to (how 
that we have as good evidence for the truth of the 
great facts which it relates, as we have for the truth of 
any ancient events whatever-! But if in addition to 
this it can be proved that the Scriptures contain inter- 
nal charadteriftics of divinity, or that they carry in 
them the evidence of their authenticity, this will at 
once anfwer all objections from the iuppofed uncer- 
tainty of hiftorical evidence. 

Hiilorians inform us of a certain valuable medicine, 
called Miihridate, an antidote to poifon, and which is 
ftill in reputation. It is faid to have been " invented 
" by Mithridates, king of Pontus *, that the receipt of 
" it was found in a cabinet, written with his own 
" hand, and was carried to Rome by Pompey ; that it 
" was tranilated into verfe by Democrates, a famous 
" phyfician ; and that it was afterwards tranflated by 
" Galen, from whom we have it." % A modern cav- 
iller might take it into his head to object to the. au- 

* Age of Reafon, Part I. p. 10, it. 
f Lardner, Simpfon, and other:, 
% Chambers' Di-ft. Mithriddte. 



INTRODUCTION. 



IX 



thenticity of this hiftory he might allege that the 
preparation has paiTed through fo many hands, and 
that there is fo much hear-fay and uncertainty at- 
tending it, that no dependence can be placed upon it, 
and that it had better be rejected from our Materia 
Medica. But of what account would fuch an objec- 
tion be in the eftimation of mankind ? They would 
alk, Has it not been tried, and found to be effetlual ; and 
that in a great variety of inflances ? Such are Mr. 
Paine's objections to the Bible and fuch is the an- 
fwer that may be given him. 

This language is not confined to infidel writers. 
Mr. Locke fpeaks of what he calls " Traditional Rev- 
*' elation," or Revelation as we have it, in fuch a 
. manner as to convey the idea, that we have no evi- 
dence of the Scriptures being the word of God, but 
from a fucceffion of witneiTes having told us fo.* But 
I conceive thefe facred writings may contain fuch in- 
ternal evidence of their being what they profefs to be s 
as that it might with equal reafon be doubted wheth- 
er the world was created by the power of God, as 
whether they were written by the infpiration of his 
Spirit ; and if fo, our dependence is not upon mere 
tradition. 

It is true, the Scriptures having been conveyed to 
us through the medium of man, the work muft nec- 
eiTarily in fome refpects have been humanized ; yet 
there may be fufficient marks of divinity upon it to- 
render it evident to every candid mind that it is of 
God. 

We may call the Mofaic account of the creation, a 
tradition, and may be faid to know through this me- 
dium that the heavens and the earth are the produc- 
tions of divine power. But it is not through this 

* Human Und, B. IV. Chap, xviii, 



INTRO DUC TlOy. 



medium only that we blow it : the heavens and the> 
earth carry in them evident marks of their divine: 
original. Thefe works of the Almighty fpeak for. 
themielves, and in language which none but thofe^ 
who are wilfully deaf can miiunderftand. Their 
found is gone forth throughout aU the earthy and their 
words to the end of the world. Were any man to pre-, 
tend that its being a matter of Revelation, and to us 
merely traditional Revelation, that God made the 
heavens and the earth, and therefore that a degree of. 
uncertainty .mult necefiarily attend it ; he- would be. 
reminded that the thing itfelf carried in it its own ev-- 
idence. Let it be candidly ccnCdered whether the 
fame may not be faid of the Holy Scriptures.' They 
will admit of hiiiorical defence ; but they do not re- 
quire it. Th;lr contents, come through whofe hands 
they may, prove them to be of God. It was on this 
principle that the gofpel was proclaimed in the form, 
of a tzjhmcny. The primitive preachers were not re-, 
quired by him who lent them to prove their doctrine, 
in the manner that philosophers were wont to eftab-. 
lifn a propofition ; but to declare the counfel of God, 
and leave it. In delivering their menage, they com-, 
mended tbemfelves to every maris conference, in the ft§ht; 
of God. 

It is no objection to this flatement of things that- 
die Scriptures are not embraced by every man, what-- 
ever be the difpofition of his mind. This is a prop-, 
erty that no divine production whatever poflefTes ; 
and to require it is equally unreafonable as to infift 
that for a book to be perfectly legible, it mud be ca- 
pable of being read by thofe who ihut their eyes upon 
it. Mr. Paine holds up the advantages of the book, 
of nature, in order to difparage that of Scripture, and, 
informs us, that " no deift can doubt whether the 



INTRODUCTION. j 3 

u works of nature be God's works." An admirable 
proof this, that we have arrived at the age of reafon ! 
Can no Atheift doubt it? I might as well fay, no 
Chriftian doubts the truth of the Scriptures : the one 
proves juft as much as the other. A prejudiced mind 
difcerns nothing of divine beauty either in nature or 
Scripture ; yet each may include the moil indubitable 
evidence of being wrought by the finger of God. 

If Chriftianity can be proved to be a religion that 
infpires the love of God and man, yea, and the only 
religion in the world that does fo ; if it endues the 
mind of him that embraces it with a principle of juf- 
tice, meeknefs, chaftity, and goodnefs, and even gives 
a tone to the morals of fociety at large, it will then 
appear to carry its evidence along with it. The ef- 
fects which it produces will be its letters of recom- 
mendation, written not with ink, bat with the Spirit of 
the living God; not in tables of Jlone, but in flejhly tables 
of the heart. Moreover, if Chriftianity can be proved 
to be in harmony with itfelf, correfpondent with ob- 
fervation and experience, and confiftent with the clear- 
eft dictates of fober reafon, it will further appear to 
carry in it its own evidence : come through whofe 
hands it may, it will evince itfelf to be what it pro- 
fefles to be, a religion from God. 

I will only add in this place, that the Chriftianity 
* here defended is not Chriftianity as it is corrupted by 
popifti fuperftition, lowered by philofophical ingenu- 
ity, or as interwoven with national eftablifhments, for 
the accomplifhment of fecular purpofes ; but as it is 
taught in the New Teftament, and pra£lifed by fin- 
cere Chriftians. There is no doubt but that in many 
inftances Chriftianity has been adopted by worldly 
men, even by infidels themfelyes, fgr the purpofes ol 



INTRODUCTION. 



promoting their political defigns. Finding the bulk 
of the people inclined to the Chriftian religion under 
fome particular form, and attached to certain leading 
perfons amongft them who fuftained the character of 
teachers ; they have confidered it as a piece of good 
policy to giye this religion an eftablifhment, and thefe 
teachers a fhare in the government. It is thus that 
religion, to its great dilhonour, has been converted 
into an engine of ftate. The politician may be pleaf- 
ed with his fuccefs, and the teacher with his honours, 
and even the people be £o far milled as to love to have 
it fo ; but the mifchief refulting from it to religion is 
incalculable. Even where fuch eftabliftiments havq 
arilen from piety, they have not failed to corrupt ths 
minds of Chriftians from the fimplicity which is in 
Chrift. It was by thefe means that the church at an 
early period, from being the bride of Chrift, gradual? 
ly degenerated to a harlot, and in the end became the. 
mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth. 
The good that is done in fuch communities is not in 
confequence of their peculiar ecelefiaftical conftitu- 
. tion, but in fpite of it : it arifes from the virtue of in- 
dividuals, which operates notwithstanding the difad- 
vantages of their fituation. 

Thefe are the things that afford a handle to unbe- 
lievers. They feldom choofe to attack Chriftianity as 
it is drawn in the facred writings, and exemplified in 
the lives of real Chriftians, who ftand at a diftance 
from worldly parade, political ftruggles, or ftate in- 
trigues but as it is corrupted and abufed by worldly 
men. Mr. Paine racks his imagination to make out 
a refemblance betwixt the heathen mythology and 
Chriftianity. While he is going over the ground of 
Chriftianity, as inftituted by Chrift and his apoftles, 
the refemblance is faint indeed. There are only twp 



INTRODUCTION, 



points, in which he even pretends to find an agree* 
ment j and thefe are formed by his mifreprefenting 
the Scriptures. The heathen deities were faid to be 
celeftially begotten? and Chrift is. called the Son of Gcd.* 
The heathens had a plurality of deities, even twenty 
or thirty thoufand ; and Chriftianity has reduced them 
to three ! It is eafy to fee that this is ground not 
fuited to Mr. Paine's purpofe; he therefore haftens 
to corrupted Chriftianity, and here he finds plenty of 
materials. " The ftatue of Mary, he fays, fucceeded 
" the ftatue of Diana of Ephefus. The deification of 
" heroes changed into the canonization of faints,. 
u The mythologifts had gods for every thing. The. 
"Chriftian mythologifts had faints for every thing* 
" The Church became as crowded with the one, as 
"the Pantheon had with the other, and Rome was 
"the place of both."f Very true, Mr. Paine; but 
you are not fo ignorant as to miftake this for Chrif- 
tianity. Had you been born and educated in Italy, or 
Spain, you might have been excufed in calling this 
" the Chriftian theory £ but to write in this manner, 
with your advantages, is difingenuous. Such conduct 
would have difgraced any caufe but yours. It is ca- 
pable, however, of fome improvement. It teaches us 
to defend nothing but the truth as it. is. in Jefus. It 
alfo affords prefumptive evidence in its favour ; for if 
Chriftianity itfelf were falfe, there is little doubt but 
that you, or fome of your fellow labourers, would be 
able to prove it foj and this would turn greatly to 
your account. Your negleding this, and directing 
your artillery chiefly againft its corruptions and abufes,. 

* To give a colour to this ftatement, he is obliged to affirm, that 
tnly Gentiles believed "Jefus to be the Son of God. What a palpablg 

falfthood ! 

f Age of Reafon, pari I, p, 5, 



xS INTRODUCTION*, 

betrays a confcioufnefs that the thing itfelf is, i£ not 
invulnerable, yet not fo eafy of attack. If Chriftian- 
ity had really been a relic of heathenifm, as you fug- 
geft, there is little reafon to think, that you v/ould; 
have fo ftrenuoufly oppofed it. 



THE 



GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS, 



PART I. 



SN WHICH THE HOLY NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN 
RELIGION IS CONTRASTED WITH THE , . 
IMMORALITY OF DEISM* 



X HE greater!: enemies of Chriftianity would llill be 
thought friendly to morality, and will plead for it as 
necefTary to the well-being of mankind. However 
immoral men may be in their practice, and to what- 
ever lengths they may proceed in extenuating particular, 
vices ; yet they cannot plead for immorality in the 
grofs. A fober, upright, humble, chafle, and generous 
character is allowed on all hands to be preferable to 
one that is profligate, treacherous, proud, unchafte, or 
cruel. Such indeed is the fenfe which men poflefs of 
right and wrong, that whenever they attempt to dif- 
parage the former, or vindicate the latter, they are re- 
duced to the neceffity of covering each with a falfe 
difguife. They cannot traduce good as good, or juftify 
evil as evil. The love of God mult be called fanatic 
cifm y and benevolence to men methodifm, or fome fuch 
opprobrious name, before they can run them down* 
Theft, cruelty, and murder, on the other hand, mufb 
aflume the names of nvlfdom and good policy, ere a plea 
can be fet up in their defence. Thus were the argu- 
ments for the abolition of the flave-trade anfwered* 
and in this manner was that iniquitous traffic defend- 
ed in the Britifh Parliament. Doubtlefs there is a wo 
banging over the heads of thofe men who thus called. 




i8 The Moral Character of God. [Part L 



evil good, and good evil ; nevertheleft, we fee, even in 
their conduct, the amiablenefs of righteoufnefs,. and 
the impoffibility of fairly oppoiing it. 



CHAP. I. 

£hri/?iamty reveals a God, glorious in hclinefs : but Deifm t 
though it acknowledges a Gcd y yet denies or overlooks his 
moral character, 

JL HERE are certain perfections which all who ac- 
knowledge a God, agree in attributing to him : fuch 
are thofe of wifdom, power, immutability, &c. Thefe, 
by Chriftian divines, are ufually termed his natural 
perfections. There are others, which no lefs evident- 
ly belong to Deity, fuch asgoodnefs, juftice, veracity, 
&c. all which may he exprefTed in one word, holinefs 
and thefe are ufually termed his moral perfections. 
Both natural and moral attributes tend to difplay the 
glory of the Divine Character, but efpecially the latter. 
"Wifdom and power in the Supreme Being render him 
a proper object of admiration , but juftice, veracity* 
and goodnefs attract our love. No being is beloved 
for his greatnefs, but for his goodnefs. Moral excel- 
lence is the highelb glory of any intelligent being, cre- 
ated or uncreated* Without this, wilclom would be 
fubtilty, power tyranny, and immutability the fame- 
thing as being unchangeably wicked. 

We account it the glory of Revelation, that while 
it difplays the natural perfections of God in a way fu- 
perior to any thing that has been called religion, it ex- 
hibits his moral excellencies in a manner peculiar to 
itfelf. It was with good reafon that Mofes affirmed 
in behalf of Ifrael, Their rock is not as our Rock, our en- 
emies them/elves being judges. The God or Rock of If- 
rael is constantly defcribed as a Being glorious in holi- 
xxefs, and as requiring pure and holy worfhip. Ths 



CHAP. I.] The Moral Char after of God. 19 



Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-fuffering, 
and abundant in goodnefs and in truth — The Lord our God 
is holy — Holy and reverend is his name — Glory ye in his 
holy name — And one cried to another, and /aid, Holy, holy, 
holy is the Lord of Hojls ; the whole earth is full of his 
glory — He is of purer eyes than to behold evil ; and cannot 
look on iniquity — A God of truth, and without iniquity j 
jujl and right is he. Is any thing like this to be found 
in the writings of the ancient heathens ? No. The 
generality cf their deities were the patrons of vice, 
and their worfhip was accompanied with the fouleft 
abominations that could difgrace the nature of man. 
Juftice, benevolence, and veracity were not confidered 
as neceffary in any part of their religion ; and a large 
proportion of it confided in drunkennefs, lewdnefs, 
and the offering up of human facrinces. 

The object of Christian adoration is Jehovah, the 
God of Ifrael ; whofe character for holinefs, juftice, 
and goodnefs is difplayed in the doctrines and precepts 
of the gofpel in a more affecting light than by any of 
the preceding difpenfations. But who or what is the 
god of deifts ? It is true, they have been fhamed out 
of the polytheifm of the heathens. They have reduc- 
ed their thirty thoufand deities into one ; but what is 
his character ? What attributes do they afcribe to 
him ? For any thing that appears in their writings, he 
is as far from the holy, the juft, and the good, as thofe 
of their heathen predeceffors. They enjoy a pleafure, 
it is allowed, in contemplating the productions of 
wifdom and power ; but as to holinefs, it is foreign 
from their inquiries : a holy God does not appear to 
be fuited to their wifhes. 

Lord Bolingbroke acknowledges a God, but is for re- 
ducing all his attributes to wifdom and power ; blaming 
divines for difxir.guiihing between his phyfical and 
moral attributes ; aiTerting that " we cannot afcribe 
" goodnefs and juftice to God, according to our ideas 
"of them, nor argue with any certainty about them 
<< and that it is abfurd to deduce moral obligations 



20 



The Moral CharaBer of Gocl. [Part h 



« from the moral attributes of God, or to pretend to 
« imitate him in thofe attributes."* 

Voltaire admits " a fupreme, eternal, incomprehen- 
« fible intelligence but paffes over his moral char* 
aaer.f 

Mr. Paine fays, ct I believe in one God, and no 
« more J and in the courfe of his work afcribes to 
him the natural perfections of ivifdom and power ; but 
is very fparing in what he fays of his moral excellence, 
of his being the moral Governor of the world, and of 
man's being an accountable creature. He affects in- 
deed to be fhocked at the impurity of the ideas and 
expreflions of the Bible, and to feel for « the honour 
" of his Creator, in having fuch a book called after 
" his name."§ This is the only paflage that I recol- 
lect:, in which he expreffes any concern for the moral 
character of God ; and whether this would have ap- 
peared, but for the fake of giving an edge to reproach* 
let the reader judge* 

How are we to account for thefe writers thus de-* 
nying or overlooking the moral character of the Dei- 
ty, but by fuppofmg that a holy God is not fuited to 
their inclinations ? If we bear a fincere regard te 
moral excellence, we fhall regard every being in pro- 
portion as he appears to poflefs it •, and if we confider 
the Divine Being as pofTemng it fupremely, and as the 
fcurce of it to all other beings, it will be natural for 
us to love him with fupreme affection, and all other 
beings in fubferviency to him. And if we love him 
fupremely on account of his moral character, it will 
be no lefs natural to take pleafure in contemplating 
him under that character. 

On the other hand, if we be enemies to moral ex- 
cellence, it will render every being who pofieffes it 
unlovely in our eyes. Virtuous or holy characters 
may indeed command our refpeff and even admiration | 

* See Leland's Review, Let. sxiii. 
f Ignor. Philof. Nos. xv. xvi. xviii. 
t Age of Reafon, Part I. p. i. § Ibid, p. 16 



f 



ChAP. I.] The Moral Character of Cod. n 

but will not attract our nffeElion. Whatever regard 
we may bear to them, it will not be on account of 
their virtue, but of other qualities of which they may 
be poffefled. Virtuous characters may be alfo wife 

• snd mighty \ and we -may admire their ingenuity, be 
delighted with their fplendour, and take pleafure in 
vifiting them, that we may infpect their curiofities : 

, but in fuch cafes the more things of a moral nature 
are kept at a diftance, the more agreeable will be cur 
vifit. Much the fame may be faid of the Supreme 
Being. If we be enemies to moral excellence, God, 
/ as a holy being, will pcffefs no lovelinefs in our eyes. 
We may admire him with that kind of admiration 
which is paid to a great genius, and may feel a pleaf- 
ure in tracing the grandeur and ingenuity of his ope- 
rations ; but the farther his moral character is kept 
out of fight, the more agreeable it will be to us. 

Lord Shaftefbury, not contented with overlooking, 
attempts to fatirize the fcrinture reprefentations of the 
divine -character. " One would think," he fays, " it 
iS were eafy to underftand that provocation and of- 
« fence, anger, revenge, jealoufy in point of honour or 
« power, love of fame, glory, and the like, belong on* 
" ly to limited beings, and are neceflarily excluded a 
« Being which is perfect and univerfah"* That many- 
things are attributed to the Divine Being in a figura- 
tive ftyle, fpeaking merely after the manner of men, 
and that they are fo underftood by Chriftians, Lord 
Shaftefbury mutt have well known. We do not think 
it lawful, however, fo to explain away thefe expref- 
fions as to confider the Great Supreme as incapable of 
being offended with fin and fmners, as deftitute of 
pleafure or difpleafure, or as unconcerned about his 
own glory, the exercife of which involves the general 
good of the univerfe. A being of this defcription 
would be neither loved nor feared, but would become 
the object of univerfal contempt. 

C 

* CharaOeriftics, Vol.1, § V, 



22 The Moral Character of God. [Part L 

It is no part of the imperfection of our nature that 
we are fufceptible of provocation and offence, of anger, 
of jealoufy, and of a juft regard to our own honour. 
Lord ShaftefDury himfelf would have ridiculed the 
man, and dill more the magiftrate, that mould have 
been incapable of thefe properties on certain occafions. 

are planted in our nature by the Divine Being, 
and are adapted to anfwer valuable purpofes. If they 
be perverted and abufed to fordid ends, which is too 
frequently the cafe, this does not alter their nature, or 
leffen their utility. "What would Lord Shaftefbury 
have thought of a magiftrate, who mould have witneff- 
ed a train of affaflmations and murders without be- 
ing in the lead offended at them, or angry with the per- 
petrators, or inclined to take vengeance on them for the 
public good ? What would he think of a Britifh Houfe 
of Commons, who mould exercife no jealoufy over the 
encroachments of a minifter, or of a king of Great- 
Britain who mould fuffer, with perfect indifference, 
his juft authority to be treated with contempt ? 

But we are limited beings, and are therefore in dan- 
ger of having our juft rights invaded. True ; and 
though God be unlimited, and fo in no danger of be- 
ing deprived of his effential glory, yet he may lofe his 
juft authority in the efeem of creatures ; and were this to 
take place univerfally, the whole creation would be a 
fcene of anarchy and mifery. But we underftand Lord 
Shaftefbury. He wiflies to compliment his Maker out 
of all his moral excellencies. He has no objection to 
a God, provided he be one after his own heart j one 
who mall pay no fuch regard to human affairs as to 
call men to account for their ungodly deeds. If he 
thought the Creator of the world to bear fuch a char- 
after, it is no wonder that he mould fpeak of him with 
what he calls " good humour, or pleafantry."* In 
fpeaking of fuch a God, he can, as Mr. Hume expreffes 
it, « feel more at eafe" than if he conceived of him 
as he is characterized in the Holy Scriptures. But 

* Chara&eriftics, Vol, I. § lit 



Chap. II.] On the Worfhip of Gad. 



2 3 



let men beware how they play with fuch fubje&s. 
Their conceptions do not alter the nature of God : 
and however they fuffer themfelves to trifle now, they 
may find, in the end, that there is not only a God 3 
but a God that judgeth in the earth. 



CHAP. II. 

Chriflianity teaches us to acknowledge God, and to devote 
our/elves to his fervice : but Deifm, though it confejjes 
one Supreme Being, yet refufes to wor/hip him. 

If there be a God, he ought to be worshipped. This 
is a principle which no man will be able to eradicate 
from his bofom, or even to fupprefs, but at great la- 
bour and expenfe. The Scriptures, it is well known, 
both inculcate and inipire the worfhip of God. — Their 
language is, 0, come let us ftng unto the Lord : let us 
make a joyful noife to the Rock of our falvaiion. Let us 
come before his prefence with thankfgiving, and make a 
joyful noife unto him with pf alms — come, let us worfhip 
and bow down : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. — 
Give unto ike Lord glory and Jirength : give unto the Lord 
the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come 
into his courts. — worfip the Lord in the beauty of holi- 
nefs : fear before him all the earth. — Give thanks unto the 
Lord, call upon his name ; make known his deeds among the 
people — glory ye in his holy name ; let the heart of them re- 
joice that feek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his Jirength ; 
feek his face continually. 

The Jpirit alfo which the Scriptures infpire is fa- 
vourable to divine worlhip. The grand leffon which 
they teach is love ; and love to God delights to exprefs 
itfelf in a£ts of obedience, adoration, fupplication, and 
praife. The natural language of a heart well affected 
to God, is — I will call upon him as long as I live — Blefs 
the Lord, my foul, and all that is ivithin me blefs his holy 



24 



On the Worpjip of God. 



[Part I. 



name — Be careful for nothing ; but in every thing by 
prayer and J application , ivith thank/giving, let your requefis 
be made known unto God. 

Is if thus with our adverfaries ? They ipeak indeed 
of " true an4 fabulous theology," and of " true and 
" faife religion and often talk of " adoring" the Su- 
preme Being. But if there be no true religion amongfi 
Chriftians, where are we to look for it ? Surely, not 
amongft dtifis. Their " adorations" feem to be a kind 
of exercifes much refernbling the benevolent acts of 
certain perfons, wl\o are fo extremely averfe to orien- 
tation, that nobody knows of their being charitable but 
themfelves. 

Mr. Paine profefTes to a believe in the equality of 
" man, and that religious duties confift in doing juftice^ 
" loving mercy, and' 1 — and what ? I thought to be fure 
he had been going to add, walking humbly ivith God. 
But I was miitaken. Mr. Paine fupplies the place of 
walking humbly with God, by adding, " and endeav- 
« ouring to make our fellow-creatures happy." * Some 
people would have thought that this was included in 
doing jiflice> and loving mercy : but Mr. Paine had rather 
ufe words without meaning, than write in favour of 
godlinefs. Walking humbly ivith' God is not, compre- 
hended in the lift of his u religious duties." The 
very phrafe offends him. It is that to him, in quoting 
Scripture, which a non-conductor is to the electrical 
fluid : it caufes him to fly off in an oblique direction - r 
and, rather than fay any thing on fo offenfive a fub~ 
ject, to deal in unmeaning tautology. 

Mr. Paine not only avoids the mention of walking 
humbly ivith God, but attempts to load the practice it- 
felf with the fouleft abufe.f He does not confider 
himfelf as u an out-caft, a beggar, or a worm ;" he 
does not approach his Maker through a Mediator ; 
he confiders « Redemption as a fable," and himfeif as 
Handing in an honourable fituation with regard to his 
relation to Deity. Some of this may be true ; but not 



* Age of Pveafon, Part I. p. a. f *bid, Part I. p. ai. 



Chap. II.] On the Worfiip of God. 2£ 



the whole. The latter part is only a piece of religious 
gafconade. If Mr. Paine really thinks fo well of his 
fituation as he pretends, the belief of an' hereafter 
would not render him "the Have of terror."* But, 
allowing the whole to be true, it proves nothing. A 
high conceit of one's felf is no proof of excellence. 
If he choofe to reft upon this foundation, he rnufl 
abide the confequence : but he had better have for- 
borne to calumniate others. What is it that has trans- 
ported this child of reafon into a paroxyfm of fury 
againft devout people ? By what fpirit is he infpired 
in pouring forth fuch a torrent of flander ? Why is it 
that he muft accufe their humility of " ingratitude," 
their grief of " affectation," and their prayers of being 
" dictatorial" to the Almighty ? Cain hated his brother ; 
and wherefore hated he him ? becaufe his own works were 
evil, and his brother's righteous. Prayer and devotion 
are things which Mr. Paine fhould have let alone, as 
being out of his province. By attempting, however, 
to run them down, he has borne witnefs to the devo- 
tion of Chriftians, and fulfilled what is written in a 
book which he affects to defpife, Speaking evil of the 
things which he underfiands not.- 

To admit a God, and then refufe to worfhip him, 
is a modern and inconfiitent practice. It is a dictate 
of reafon as well as of Revelation : If the Lord be God, 
worffAp him ; and if Baal, worjhip him. It never was 
made a queftion, whether the God in whom we believe 
fhould receive our adorations. All nations in all ages 
paid religious homage to the refpective deities, or fup- 
pofed deities in which they believed. Modern unbe- 
lievers are the only men who have deviated from this 
practice. How this is to be accounted for, is a fubject 
worthy of inquiry. To me it appears as follows : — 

In former times, when men were weary of the wor- 
ship of the true God, they exchanged it for that of 
idols. I know of no account of the origin of idolatry 
fo rational as that which is given by Revelation. Men 
C 2 

* Age of Reafon, Part II, near the end. 



26 



On the Worfiip of God. [Part L 



did not like to retain God in their knowledge ; therefore they 
were given up to a mind void of judgment • to change the 
glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to 
sorruptible man y and to birds > and four-footed bea/ls, and 
creeping things ; and to defile their bodies by every 
fpecies of lewdnefs and wickednefs.* It was thus 
with the people who came to inhabit the country of 
Samaria after the Ifraelites were carried captives into 
Afiyria. At firft they feemed defirous to know and 
fear the God of Ifrael : but when they came to be in- 
formed of his holy character, and what kind of wor». 
iliip he required, they prefently difcovered their diflike, 
They pretended to fear him ; but it was mere pre- 
tence ; for every nation made gods of their own.-\ Now 
gods of their own making would doubtlefs be charac- 
terized according to their own mind •, they would be 
patrons of fuch vices as their makers wimed to in- 
dulge ; gods whom they could approach without fear 3 
and in addreffing them, " be more at eafe," as Mr. 
Hume fays, than in addreffing the one living and true 
God ; gods, in fine, the worfhip of whom might be 
accompanied with banquetings, revellings, drunken-, 
nefs, and lewdnefs. Thefe, I conceive, were the ex- 
ercifes. rather than the mere falling down to an idol, 
that interefled the paffions of the wor (nippers. Thefe 
were the exercifes that feduced the ungodly part o£ 
the Ifraeiitifti nation to an imitation of the heathens. 
They found it extremely difagreeable to be conftantly 
employed in the wormip of a holy God. Such wor- 
Clip would awe their fpirits, damp their pleafures, and 
reftrain their inclinations. It is not furprifing there- 
fore that they mould be continually departing from the 
worfhip of Jehovah, and leaning towards that whick 
was more congenial with their propenfities. But the- 
fituation of modern unbelievers is fingular. Things 
are fo circumftanced with them that they cannot wor- 
fhip the gods which they prefer. They never fail to 
4ifcover a ftrong partiality in favour of heathens 5 but 



* Rom, u 



\ % Kings, xvii, 



Chap. II.] On the Worfhip of God. 



27 



they have not the face to praclife or defend their ab- 
furd idolatries. The doctrine of one living and true 
God has appeared in the world, by means of the 
preaching of the gofpel, with fuch a blaze of evi- 
dence, that it has forced itfelf into the minds of men* 
whatever has been the temper of their hearts. The 
ftupid idolatry of paft ages is exploded. Chriftianity 
has driven it out of Europe. The confequence is, 
great numbers are obliged to acknowledge a God 
whom they cannot find in their hearts to worfhip. 

If the light that is gone abroad in the earth would 
permit the rearing of temples to Venus, or Bacchus* 
or any of the rabble of heathen deities, there is 
little doubt but that modern unbelievers would in 
great numbers become their devotees : but feeing they 
cannot have a god whofe worfhip mail accord with 
their inclinations, they ieem determined not to wor- 
fhip at all. And to come off with as good a grace as 
the affair will admits they compliment the Deity out 
of his fovereign prerogatives \ profeffing to « love him 
" for his giving them exiftence, and all their proper* 
" ties, without intereft, and without fubjecling then* 
" to any thing but their own nature."* 

The introduction of fo large a portion of heathen 
mythology into the fongs, and other entertainments 
of the ftage, fufficiently {hews the bias of people's 
hearts. The houfe of God gives them no pleafure : but 
the refurreclion of the obfcenities, intrigues, and bac- 
chanalian revels of the old heathens, affords them ex- 
quifite delight. In a country where Chriftian worfhip 
abounds, this is plainly faying, « What a wearinefs is 
< it ! O that it were no more ! fmce however we can- 

* not introduce the worfliip of the gods, we will neg- 
f lec~t. all worfhip, and celebrate the praifes of our fa-. 

* vourite deities in another form/ In a country where 
deifm has gained the afcendancy, this principle is car- 
ried flill farther. Its language there is, < Seeing we 
4 cannot, for fhame, worfhip any ether than the. one 



* Ignor. Pailof, No, XXIV, 



On the WorJJjip cf God. 



[Part I. 



6 living and true God, let us abolifh the day of wor- 
« fhip, and fubftitute in its place one day in ten, which 
( fliall be devoted chiefly to theatrical entertainments, 
c in which we can introduce as much heathenifm as 

« we pleafe/ 

Mr. Hume acknowledges the jufilce of confidering 
the Deity as infinitely fuperior to mankind \ but he 
reprefents it at the fame time as very generally at- 
tended with unpleafant effects, and magnifies the ad- 
vantages cf having gods which are only a little fupe- 
rior to ourfelves. " While the Deity, he fays, is rep- 
<c refented as infinitely fuperior to mankind, this be- 
" lief, though altogether juft, is apt, when joined with 
" fuperftitious terrors, to fink the human mind ijito 
« the lowed fubmiflion and abafement, and to repre- 
u fent the monkifh virtues of mortification, penance, 
€£ humility, and paffive fuffering, as the only qualities 
* which are acceptable to him. But where the gods 
« are conceived to be only a little fuperior to mankind, 
" and to have been many of them advanced from thatr 
" inferior rank, we are more at our eafe in our ad- 
¥ dreffes to them, and may even without profanenefs 
" afpire fometimes to a rivalftiip and emulation of 
«* them. Hence activity, fpirit, courage, magnanimi- 
" ty, love of liberty, and all the virtues which aggran- 
" dize a people.'''* 

It is eafy to perceive from this pafiage, that though 
Mr. Hume acknowledges the juftice of conceiving of a 
God infinitely fuperior to us, yet his inclination is the 
other way. In a nation at leaft, the bulk of which 
will be fuppofed to be inclined to fuperftition, it is 
better, according to his reafoning, and more friendly 
to virtue, to promote the worihip of a number of imag- 
inary deities, than of the one only living and true God. 
Thus the fool faith in his hearty no God ! 

The fum of the whole is this, modern unbelievers 
are deifts in theory, pagans in inclination, and atheift? 
in practice. 



* Diffeit, on the Nat. Hift of Rel. § XI 



CHAP. III.] The Standard of Morality. 



If deifts loved the one only living and true God, 
they would delight in worlhipping him for love can- 
not be inoperative ; and the only poflible way for it to 
operate towards an infinitely glorious and all-perfect 
Being, is by worshipping his name, and obeying his 
will. If Mr. Paine really felt for " the honour of, his 
" Creator," as he affects to do,* he would mourn in 
fecret for all the great wickednefs which he has com- 
mitted againft him *, he would lie in the dull before 
him, not merely as " an outcait, a beggar, and a 
" worm," but as a finner, deferving his eternal dif- 
pleafure* He would be glad of a Mediator, through 
whom he might approach his offended Creator j and 
would confider redemption through his blood not as 
" a fable," but a divine reality, including all his falva- 
tion, and all his defire. Yes, he himfelf would « turn 
« devout ;" and it would be faid of him as of Saul of 
Tarfus, Behold he prayeth ! Nor would his prayers, 
though importunate, be " dictatorial," or his grief 
" affected." On the contrary, he would look on Him 
whom he hath pierced, and mourn, as one mourneth 
\for an only fon ; and be in bitternefs, as one that is in 
bitternefs for his firft-born. But thefe are things per- 
taining to godlinefs ; things, alas for him, the mention 
of which is fuflicient to inflame his mind with malig- 
nity, and provoke him to the moft outrageous and abu- 
live language. 



CHAP. IIL 

The Chriflian Jlandard of morality is enlarged^ and free 
from impurity : but deifm confines our obligations to thofe 
duties which refpecl our own fpecies> and greatly palli- 
ates vice with regard to a breach even of them. 

PERSONS who profefs the ftriaeft regard to the 
rule of duty, and carry the extent of it to the higher! 
pitch, may, it is allowed, be infincere, and contradict, 



* Age of Reafoji, Part I. p. 16. 



3* 



The Standard of Morality, [Part I. 



by their practice, what they advance in their profef- 
fions. But thofe whofe ideas of virtue are low and 
contracted, and who embrace every opportunity to 
reconcile the vices of the world with its facred pre- 
cepts, cannot poflibly be accounted any other than its 
enemies. 

That which the Scriptures call holinefs, fpirltuality 9 
&c. as much furpaffes every thing that goes under the 
names of morality and virtue amongft unbelievers, as 
a living man furpaffes a painting, or even a rude and 
imperfect daubing. If in this controverfy I have ufed 
thefe terms to exprefs the fcriptural ideas, it is not be- 
caufe in their ordinary acceptation they are equal to 
the purpofe, but for the fake of meeting unbelievers 
upon their own ground. I have a right however to 
underftand by them, thofe difpofitions of the mind* 
whatever they be, which are right, fit, or amiable ; and 
fo explained, I undertake to prove that the morality 
and virtue inculcated by the gofpel, is enlarged, and 
free from impurity, while that which is taught by its 
adverfaries is the reverfe. 

It is a diilinguifhing property of the Bible, that all 
its precepts aim directly at the heart. It never goes 
about to form the mere exterior of man. To merely 
external duties it is a ftranger. It forms the lives of 
men no otherwife than by forming their difpofitions. 
It never addreffes itfelf to their vanity, felfifhnefs, or 
any other corrupt propenfity. You are not preffed to 
confider what men will think of you, or how it will 
affect your temporal intereft *, but what is right, and' 
what is neceffary to your eternal well-being. If you 
comply with its precepts, you mud be, and not merely 
feem to be. It is the heart that is required ; and all the 
different prescribed forms of worfiiip and obedience 
are but fo many modifications, or varied expreffions 
of it. 

Is any thing like this to be found in the writings of 
deifts ? No. Their deity does not feem to take cog- 
nizance of the heart. According to them* « there 



CHAP. III.] The Standard of Morality 



31 



« is no merit or crime in intention.''* Their moral- 
ity only goes to form the exterior of man. It allows 
the utmoft fcope for wicked defires, provided they be 
not carried into execution to the injury of fociety. 

The morality which the Scriptures inculcate is 
fummed up in thefe few v/ords : Thou Jhalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy hearty with all thy foul, with 
all thy mind, with all thy Jlrength ; a fid thy neighbour 
as thyfelf This fingle principle is competent to the 
government-of all intelligent nature. It is a band that 
would hold together the whole rational creation ; 
and diffufe peace, order and happinefs wherever it 
exifted. 

If mankind loved God fupremely, there would be 
no idolatry upon earth, nor any of its attendant abom- 
inations ; no profaning the name of God, nor making 
a gain of godlinefs ; no oppofing, corrupting, pervert- 
ing, nor abufing the truth ; no perjuries, nor hypocri- 
tes *, no defpifmg of thofe that are good ; no arro- 
gance, ingratitude, pride, nor felf-complacency under 
the fmiles of Providence ; and no murmuring, heart- 
rifing, fullennefs, nor fuicide under its frowns. |Love 
would render it their meat and drink to fear, honour, 
and obey him, and induce them to take every thing 
well at his hands. 

And if they loved their fellow-creatures as them- 
felves, for his fake, there would be no wars, rivalfhips, 
antipathies, nor breach of treaties between nations \ 
no envyings, ftrifes, wrongs, flanders, duels, litigations, 
nor intrigues between neighbours ; no flattering com- 
plaisance, nor perfecuting bitternefs in. religion; no 
deceit, fraud, nor over-reachings in trade ; no tyran- 
ny, venality, haughtinefs, nor oppreffion among the 
great ; no envy, difcontent, difaffeftion, cabals, nor 
evil-devifings among common people •, no murders, 
robberies, thefts, burglaries, nor brothels, in city or 
country ; no cruelty in parents or matters •, no in- 
gratitude nor difobedience in children or fervants ; no 



* Volney's Law of Nature, p. x8= 



32 



The Standard of Morality. [Part L 



unkindnefs, treachery, nor implacable refentments be- 
tween friends ; no illicit connexions between the 
fexes ; no infidelities, jealoufies, nor bitter contentions 
in families •, in fhort, none of thofe ftreams of death, 
one or more of which flow through every vein of fo- 
ciety, and poifon its enjoyments. 

Such is the principle and rule of Chriflian morality ; 
and what has deifm to fubftitute in its place ? Can it 
find a fuccedaneum for love ? No : but it propofes the 
love of ourf elves inftead of the love of God. Lord 
Bolingbroke refolves all morality into felf-love as its 
firft principle. « We love ourfelves," fays he, " we 
" love our families, we love the particular focieties to 
6i which we belong ; and our benevolence extends at 
" lad to the whole race of mankind. Like fo many 
" different vortices, the centre of all is felf-love." # 
Such alfo are the principles of Volney. 

Could this difpofition be admitted as a proper fource 
of moral action, the world would certainly not be 
wanting in morality. All men poffefs at leaft the 
principle of it, whether they carry it to the extent 
which Lord Bolingbroke propofes, or not •, for though 
fome may err in the choice of their end, and others 
in the means of obtaining it ; yet no man was ever 
fo wanting in regard to himfelf, as intentionally to 
purfue his own injury. But if it fhould prove that 
to render felf-love the fource of moral acVion is the 
fame thing as for every individual to treat himfelf as 
the Supreme Being ; and, therefore, that this faid felf- 
love, inftead of being a fource of virtue, is of the very 
eflence of vice, and the fource of all the mifchief in 
the univerfe, confequences may follow of a very dif- 
ferent complexion. 

To fubordinate felf-love I have no objection. It 
occupies a place in the Chriftian Standard of. Morality, 
being the meafure of that love which we owe to our 
fellow-creatures. And as the univerfal love which 
we owe to them does not hinder but that fome of 



* Pofthum. Works, Vol. V. p. 82. 



Chap. III.] The Standard of Morahty. 



33 



them, by reafon of their fituation, or peculiar relation 
to us, may require a larger portion of our regard than 
others, it is the fame with refpedl to ourfelves. Our 
own concerns are our own immediate charge ; and 
thofc which are of the greateft importance, fuch as 
the concerns of our fouls, undoubtedly require a pro- 
portionate degree of attention. But all this does not 
affect the prefent fubject of inquiry. It is our fupreme^ 
and not our fubordinate regard, that will ever be the 
fource of action. 

I take it for granted, that it is the intention cf eve- 
ry good government, human or divine, to unite its fub- 
jects, and not to fet them at variance. But there can 
be no union without a common object of regard. 
Either a character whom all love and venerate, or an 
end which all purfue, or both, is that to a community 
which a head-ftone is to an arch : nor can they keep to- 
gether without it. It is thus that the love of God holds 
creation together. He is that lovely character to whom 
all holy intelligences bear fupreme affection ; and the 
difplay of his glory, in the univerfal triumph of truth 
and righteoufnefs, is that end which they ail purfue. 
Thus united in their grand object, they cannot but 
feel a union of heart with one another, arifing from 
what is common to every other voluntary union, a con- 
geniality of fentiments and purfuits. 

But if our fupreme affection terminate on ourfelves, 
and no being, created or uncreated, be regarded but 
for our own fikes, it is manifeft there can be no union 
beyond the fphere in which other beings become vol- 
untarily fubfervient to our wifhes. The fupreme Be- 
ing, if our plan do not comport with his, will be con- 
tinually thwarting us ; and fo we {hall be always at 
variance with him* And as to created beings, thofe 
individuals whom we defire to be fubfervient to our 
wiflies, having the fame right, and the fame inclina- 
tion to require that we mould be fubfervient to theirs, 
will alfo be continually thwarting us ; and fo we mall 
always be at variance with them* In fliort, nothing 



34 



The Standard of Morality. [Part L 



but an endlefs fucceffion of difcord and confufion can 
be the confequence. Every one fetting up for pre- 
eminence, every one muft, of courfe, contribute to the 
general ftate of anarchy and mifery which will pervade 
the community. Such is, in fact, the irate of this 
apoftate world ; and, but forDivine Providence, which, 
for wife ends, balances all human affairs, by caufmg 
one fet of evils to counteract the influence of another, 
it muft be overfet by its own disorders. 

To regard every other being, created or uncreated s 
only for our own fakes, is fupreme felf-Iove ; and in- 
Head of being a fouree of virtue, is itfelf abominable, 
and the fource of all the mifchief and mifery in the 
univerfe. All the evils jufl enumerated are to be 
traced to this principle as their common parent nor 
is there any ground of hope that k will ever produce 
effects of a different nature. Some perfons have talk- 
ed much of " felf-love ripening into benevolence. w 
Had it been faid malevolence, it had been nearer the 
truth ; for it is contrary to all experience, that any 
thing {hould change its nature by becoming more 
mature. No, a child in knowledge may difcern that 
if ever genuine benevolence exift in the breaft of an 
individual, or extend its healing wings over a bleeding 
world, it muft be by the fubverfion of this principle, 
and by the prevalence of that religion which teaches 
us to love God fupremely, ourfelves fubordinately, and 
our fellow-creatures as ourfelves. 

To furnifh a Standard of Morality, fome of our ad- 
verfaries have had recourfe to the laws of the fate ; 
avowing them to be the rule or meafure of virtue. 

Mr. Hobbes maintained that the rivil law evas the 
file foundation of right and wrong, and that religion had 
no obligation but as enjoined by the magi/Irate : and Lord 
Bolingbroke often writes in a ftrain nearly fimilar, 
difowning any other fandion or penalty by which 
obedience to the law of nature is enforced, than thefe 
which are provided by the laws of the lando* * 

* Works, Vol, V. p. 90, 



Chap. III.] The Standard of Morality* 



But this rule is defective, abfurd, contradictory, and 
fubverfive of all true morality. Firff , It is grofsly de- 
fective. This is juftly reprefented by a prophet of 
their own. Ci It is a narrow notion of innocence," 
fays Seneca, tx to meafure a man's goodnefs only by 
*< the law. Of how much larger extent is the rule 
u of duty, or of good offices, than rhat of legal right ? 
'< How many things are there which piety, humanity, 
4t liberality, juftice, and fidelity require, which yet are 
** not within the compafs of the public ftatutes ?"*'" 
Secondly, It is abfurd : for if the public Itatutes be the 
only ftandard of right and wrong, legiflators in fram- 
ing them could be under no law \ nor is it poflible 
that in any inftance they mould have enacted injuftice. 
Thirdly, It is contradictory. Human laws, we all 
know, require different and oppofite things in different 
nation? y and in the fame nation at different timer. 
If this principle be right, it is right for deifts to 
be perfecuted for their opinions at one period, and 
to perfecute others for theirs at another. Final- 
ly, It is fubverfive of all true morality. " The civil 
'« laws," as Dr. Leland has obferved, " take no cogni- 
f* zance of fecret crimes, and provide no punifhment 
t( for internal bad difpofitions, or corrupt affections* 
f( A man may be fafely as wicked as he pleafes, on 
" this principle, provided he can manage fo as to ef- 
fC cape punifhment from the laws of his country, 
" which very bad men, and thofe that are guilty of 
" great vices eafily may, and frequently do evade." 

Rouffeau has recourfe to feelings as his flandardw 
" I have only to confult myfelf," he fays, " concerning 
" what I ought to do. AH that 1 feel to be right is - 
" right. Whatever I feel to be wrong is wrong. All 
" the morality of our actions lies in the judgment 
M we ourfelves form of them."f By this rule his con- 
duct, through life appears to have been directed, as 
we mail hereafter perceive. 

* Iceland's Advantage and Neceflity of Revelation, Vol. II. Ft. If, 
Ch, III. p.' 4 i. 

f Emilius, Vol, I. p. 166—168, 



The Standard of Morality. [Part I. 



But that on which our opponents infill the moft,. 
and with the greateft fliew of argument, is the law and 
light cf nature. This is their profeffed rule on almoft 
all occasions : and its praifes they are continually 
founding. I have no deure to depreciate the light of 
nature, or to difparage its value as a rule. On the con- 
trary, I confider it as occupying an important place in 
the divine government. Whatever may be faid of the 
light pc fie fled by the heathen as beir.g derived from 
Revelation, I feel no difficulty in acknowledging, that 
the grand Jaw which they are under is that of nature. 
Jtevelation itfelf appears to me fo to repreient it ; hold- 
ing it up as the rule by which they mail be judged,, 
and declaring its dictates to be fo clear as to leave them 
without excufe* Nature and Scripture appear to me 
to be as much in harmony as rVlofes and Chriil 5 both 
celebrated in the fame TPfalna^ 

By the light of nature, however, I do not mean thofe 
ideas which heathens have actually entertained, many 
of which have been darknefs but thofe which were 
prefented to them by the works of creation, and which 
they might have pciiefTed had they been defirous of 
retaining God in their knowledge. And by the dic- 
tates of nature, with regard to right and wrong, I un- 
derstand thefe things which appear to the mind of a 
perfon fincerely difpofed to underftand and praclife his 
duty, to be natural, ft, or reafonabk. There is dcubt- 
lefs an eternal difference between right and wron^ 5. 
and this difference, in a vaft variety of inftances, is 
manifeft to every man who fincerely and impartially 
ccnfiders it. So manifeft have the power and God- 
head of the Creator been rendered in every age, that 
no perfon cf an upright difpofition could, through 
mere miiiake, fall into idolatry or impiety ; and every 
one who has continued in thefe abominations is whh- 
sut ezevfe. The defire alio which every human being 
feels of having juftice done to him from all other per- 
fons, muft render it fufficiently manifeft to his judgment 



* Rem. ii. iz — X 6, i, 20. 



f Pf. xix, 



Chap. III.] The Standard of Morality. 



37 



that he ought to do the fame to them ; and wherein 
he acts otherwife, his confcience, unlefs it be feared 
as with a hot iron, muft accufe him. 

But does it follow from hence that Revelation is 
unneceffary. I trow not. It is one thing for nature 
to afford fo much light, in matters of right and wrong, 
as to leave the (inner without excufe *, and another to 
afford him anyi well-grounded hope of forgivenefs, or 
to anfwer his difficulties concerning the account which 
fomething within him fays he muft hereafter give of 
his prefent conduct. 

Farther, It is one thing to leave fmners without ex- 
cufe in fin, and another thing to recover them from it. 
That the Jight of nature is inefficient for the latter, is 
demonftrated by melancholy fact. Inftead of return- 
ing to God and virtue, thcfe nations which have pof- 
fefled the higheft degrees of it have gone farther and 
farther into immorality. f There is not a fingle exam- 
ple of a people, of their own accord, returning to the 
acknowledgment of the true God, or extricating them- 
felves from the moft irrational fpecies of idolatry, or 
defifling from the moft odious kinds of vice. Thofe 
nations where fcience uiiiufed a more than ordinary 
luftre, were as fuperflitious, and as wicked as the moft 
barbarous ; and in many inflances exceeded them. It 
was,, I doubt not, from a clofe obfervation of the dif- 
ferent efficacy of nature and fcripture, that the writer 
of the 19th Pfalm. fa Pfalm which Mr. Paine pre- 
tends to admire) after having given a jufl tribute of 
praife to the former, (affirmed of the latter, The lain 
tjf Jehovah is perfecl } converting the foul. 

Again, It is one thing for that which is natural, fit, 
or reafonable, in matters of duty, to approve itfelf to a 
mind fncere/y difpofed to under/land and praclife it y and 
another to approve itfelf to a mind of an oppcfite de- 
fcription. The judgments of men concerning the dic- 
tates of nature are greatly influenced by their prevail- 
ing inclinations. If, under certain circumftances, they 
feel prompted to a particular courfe of conduct, they 
will be apt to coafider that promptitude as a, diftate ot 
D % 



33 



The Standard of Morality. [Part L 



nature, though it may be no other than corrupt pro- 
penfity ; and thus, while the law of nature is continu- 
ally in their mouth, their principles, as well as their 
conducl, are a continual violation of it. How was it 
that, nptwithftanding the light of nature {hone round 
the old philofophers, their minds, in matters of moral- 
ity, were dark as night, and their precepts, in many 
inftances, full of impurity ? Did nature infpire Plato 
to teach the doctrine of a community of wives ; Ly- 
curgus to tolerate dexterous thieving ; Solon to allow 
of fodomy ; Seneca to encourage drunkennefs and 
fuicide •, and almoft all of them to declare in favour 
of lewdnefs ?* No, verily ; it is a perverfion of lan- 
guage to call the principles of ftich men the dictates 
of nature : they are unnatural and abominable ; as 
contrary to reafon as to religion. 

It is true, what is called nature by modern infidels, 
is not quite fo grofs as ?he above ; but it falls very 
little fhprt of it. So far as relates to the encourage- 
ment of theft, and, perhaps, of unnatural crimes, they 
would difavow \ and for this we are indebted to Chris- 
tianity : but as to fornication and adultery, thev are 
not a whit behind their predeceffbrs. 

Lord Herbert, the father of the Englifh deifts, and 
whofe writings are far more fober than the generality 
of thofe who have come after him, apologizes for 
lewdnefs, in certain cafes, as refembling third in a 
dropfy, and inactivity in a lethargy.-)- Lord Boling- 
hroke unbiumingly infinuates, that the only confidera- 
tion that can reconcile a man to confine himfelf by 
marriage to one woman, and -a woman to one man, is 
this, that nothing hinders but that they may indulge 
their defires with others.J This is the lame as accu£- 
jng the whole human race of incontinency, and deny- 
ing that there is any fuch thing as conjugal fidelity ; 
a plain proof that whoever was clear of this indeed;? 

* See Leland's Advantage and Neceffily of Revelation; Vol, U, 
p. I47> 5°, 59> 21 °> 

t Leland's Review, &c. Vol. I. Let. L 
1 "Works, Vol. V. p. 167, 



CHAP. III.] The Standard cf Morality, 



39 



charge, Lord Bolingbroke was not. Mr. Hume, who 
has written a volume on the principles of morality, 
fcruples not to ftigmatize felf-denial as " a monkim 
« virtue •," and adopts the opinion of a French writer, 
that " adultery mufl be praclifed if we would obtain 
i( all the advantages of life •, that female infidelity, 
* ( when known, is a fmall thing, and when unknown^ 
« nothing." 

It is true, thefe writers will, on fome cccafions, de- 
fcant in favour of chaitity, as being conducive to health 
and reputation *, but on others they feldom fail to apol- 
ogize for the contrary, and that under the pretence 
of indulging the dictates of nature. Yet the fame 
things might be alleged in behalf of opprefiion, re- 
venge, theft, duelling, ambitious war, and a thoufatnd 
other vices which defolate the earth : they are prac- 
tices which men, placed in certain circumftances, will 
feel themfelves prompted to commit ; nor is there a 
vice that can be named but what would admit of fuch 
■an apology. 

Finally, It is one thing for the light of nature to be 
fo clear as to render idolatry, impiety, and injuftice 
inexcufable ; and another thing to render the whole 
will of our Creator evident, and in the moft advanta- 
geous maimer. If a perfon, poffefied of only the light 
of nature, were ever fo fincerely defirous of knowing 
God, or grieved for the fins of which his confcience 
accufed him, or attached to the holy, the j.ui\, and the 
good or difpofed to obey his Creator's will if he did 
but underftand it ; though he mould be in no danger 
of confounding the dictates of nature with thofe cf 
corrupt propenfity, ye-t he muft labour under great dis- 
advantages *, which, allowing they might not arTecl his 
eternal ftate, yet would greatly injure his prefent peace 
and ufefulnefs. 

'Fo iliuftrate this remark, let us fuppofe the inhab- 
itants of a province to throw oft the government of a 
juit and lawful prmee. Being once engaged, they 
may feel themfelves impelled to go forward. They 
rnay choofe new rulers, and ufe all poffible means to 



40 The Standard cf Morality. [Part L 



efface every fign and memorial of the authority of their 
ancient fovereign. They may even labour to forget, 
and teach their children to forget, if poflible, that 
there ever was fueh a character in being, to whom 
they owed allegiance. Yet, after all, there may be 
certain traces and memorials of his government which 
it is not in their power to efface* Yea, there may be 
continued inftances of forbearance and clemency, 
which, in fpite of all their efforts, wilf bear witnefs o£ 
his goodnefs and juft authority over them. 

Thus it was that God, while \\z ftfflered all nations to 
<wa!k in their own luayiy neverthelefs LEFT NOT HIM- 
SELF without A witness, in that he did good, and gave 
them rain from heaven , and fruitful feafons, filling their 
hearts with fzod and gladnefs. But as the memorials of 
■juft authority in the one cafe, though fufhcient to leave 
the rebellious without excufe, would not contain zfull 
expreffion of the prince's will, nor be conveyed in fo 
advantageous a manner as that in which he treated his 
proteffed fubjecxs ; fo the light afforded by the works 
of nature, and the continued goodnefs of God, in the 
other, though fuukient to leave the world without ex- 
cufe, dees not exprefs his whole will, nor convey what 
it does exprefs fo adventageoufly as by Revelation, 
And as an individual refiding in the midft of the re- 
bellious province, whofe heart might relent, and who 
might long to return to his allegiance, would be under 
inexprelnbk difadvantages. fo it rnuft neeeffarily be 
with a heathen, whofe defire fhould be towards the 
God again ft whom he had Gimed.- 

The amount is, that modern unbelievers have no 
ftandard of morals, except it be their own inclination. 
Morality with them is any thing, or nothing, as con~ 
veniency requires. On fome occafions they will praife 
that cf Jefus Chrifl : but ere we can have time to aft 
them, Why then do ycu not fubmit to it, they are 
employed in oppofing it. Attend to their general 
declamations in favour of virtue, and you will be 
ready to imagine they are its warmeft friends : but 
follow them up, and cbferve their expofition of partic- 
ular precepts, and ycu will be convinced that they are 



Chap. III.] The Standard of Morality,, 



4* 



its decided enemies ; applauding in the grofs, that 
which they are ever undermining in detail. 

By the foolifli and difcordant accounts winch thefe 
writers give of morality, it mould feem that they know 
not what it is. Every new fpeculator is diffatisfied 
with the definition of his predeceflbr, and endeavours 
to mend it. " Virtue," fays Lord Shaftefbury, " is a 
" fenfe of beauty, of harmony, of order, and propor- 
f* tion, an affection towards the whole of our kind, or 
" fpecies." "It is," fays Lord Bolingbroke, "only 
v " the love of ourfel-vesP " It is every thing that tends 
§' to preferve and perfect man," fays Volney ; and as 
f< good reputation" has this tendency, it is in his ac- 
count " a moral good."* "It is whatever is ufeful in 
" fociety," fays Mr. Hume 5 and as " health, cieanli- 
" nefs, facility of exprejlion, broad moulders, and 
i( taper legs" are of ufe, they are to be reckoned 
among!! the virtues. To this might have been added, 
a large portion of effrontery^ as the laft named writer af- 
fures us (it may be from his own experience) that 
" nothing carries a man through the world like a true 
" genuine, natural impudence."f Mr. Paine brings up 
the rear, and informs us, " It is doing juflice^ loving 
" mercy } and .... endeavouring to make our fellow- 
" creatures happy." O Paine, had you but for once 
fufFered yourfelf to be taught by a prophet, and have 
quoted his words as they ftand, you would undoubted- 
ly have borne away the palm : but you had rather write 
nonfenfe than fay any thing in favour of godlinefs. 

It is worthy of notice, that amid It all the discord- 
ance of thefe writers, they agree in excluding the 
Divine Being from their theory of morals. They 
think after their manner; but Gcd is not in all their 
thoughts. In comparing the Chriflian doctrine of mo- 
rality, the fum of which is love } with their atheiilical 
jargon, one feems to hear the voice of the Almighty, 
faying, Wh& is this that darkeneth counfel with 'ivords 

* Law of Nature, p. 17. 

f Enquiry concerning the principles of morals, § 6, 7, 8. — Ef- 
iays Moral aad Political, Ef. III. p. jj. 



42 Motives to a virtuous Life. [_Part T. 

without knowledge ?■ — Fear God, arid keep his command^- 
ments* ; for this is the whole duty of man. 

The words of Scripture are fpirit and life. They 
are the language of love. Every exhortation of Chrift 
and his apofiles is impregnated with this fpirit. Let 
the reader turn to the twelfth chapter of the epiftle to 
the Romans, for an example, and read it carefully ; 
let him find, if he can, any thing in the pureft part of 
the waitings of deifts that is worthy of being compar- 
ed with it. — No \ virtue itfelf is no longer virtue in 
their hands. It lofes its charms when they affect to 
embrace it. Their touch is that of the cold hand of 
death. The mofl lovely object is deprived by it o£ 
life and beauty, and reduced to a fhrivelled mafs o£ 
inactive formality. 



CHAP. Wl 

Chri/lianity furni/hes motives to a virtuous life, which 
Deifm either rejects y or attempts to undermine. 

So long as our adverfaries profefs a regard to virtue r 
and acknowledge with Lord Bolingbroke, that " the 
" gofpel is in all cafes one continued leflbn of the 
" ftrictefl morality of juftice, of benevolence, and of 
<c univerfal charity,"* they muft allow thofe to be the 
beft principles which furnifh the moft effectual mo- 
tives for reducing it to practice, 

Now there is not a doctrine in the whole compafs 
of Chriftianity but what is improveable to this purpofe. 
It is a grand peculiarity of the gofpel, that none of its 
principles are merely fpeculative ; each is pregnant 
with a practical ufe. Nor does the difcovery of it re- 
quire any extraordinary degree of ingenuity j real 
Chriftians, however weak as to their natural capacities, 
have always been taught by the gofpel of Chrift, that 



* Works, Vol.V. p. 1 88 ; 



Chap. IV.] Motives to a virtuous Life. 



43 



denying ungodlinefs, and worldly lufls, they Jhould live fo- 
berly, righteoufy, and godly in the prefent world. 

Ancient philofophers have taught many things in 
favour of morality, fo far at leaft as refpect juftice and 
goodnefs towards our fellow-creatures but where are 
the motives by which the minds of the people, or even 
their own minds, have been moved to a compliance 
with them ? They framed a curious machine ; but who 
amongil them could difcover a power to work it ? 
What principles have appeared in the world under the 
names either of philofophy or religion, that can bear a 
comparifon with the following ? 

God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whofoever beiieveth in him Jhould art peri/h, but 
have everlajling life — Herein is love not that we loved 
God, but that he loved us, and fent his Son to be a propitia- 
tion for our fins. Beloved, if God fo loved us, we ought 
alfo to love one another. Let all bitter nefs, and wrath, and 
anger, and cla??iour, and evil fpeaking, be put away from 
you, with all malice ; and be ye hind one to another, tender- 
hearted, forgiving oite another, even as God for Chriffs 
fake hath forgiven you — Be ye followers, or imitators of 
God, as dear children and walk in love, as Ghrifl alfo 
Jhaih loved us, and given Inmfelf for us, an offering, and a 
facrijice to God of a fweet fmelling favour — Ye are a chofen 
generation, a royal priefthood, a holy nation, a peculiar peo- 
ple ; that ye Jhould Jhew forth the praifes of him who hath 
tailed you out of darknefs into his marvellous light — Come 
out from amongjl them, and be ye feparate, faith the Lord, 
and touch not the uncleafi thing, and I will receive you s 
and will be a Father unto you, and ye Jhall be my fons and 

\ daughters, faith the Lord Almighty. Having, therefore, 
thffe promifes, dearly beloved, let us cleanfe ourf elves from all 
filthinefs of the flefh and fpirit, perfecting holinefs in the 
fear of God — If there be, therefore, any conflation in GhriJl, 
if any comfort of love, if any fellow/hip of the Spirit, if any 
bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, — be of one accord, of 
one mind : let nothing be done through fir if e, or vain glory, 
but in lowlinefs of mind let each ejleem other better, than 

I ihemf elves— -Dearly beloved, I befeech you as Jlr angers and 



44 



Motives to a virtuous Life. 



[Part L 



pilgrims, ahflaln from Jlejhly lifts which war again/} the 
foul having your converfatien hor.ejt among the Gentiles, 
that whereas they fpeah againfi you as evil-doers, they may % 
by your good works which they fhall behold, glorify God in the 
day of vifitation — Ye are bought with a price ; therefore 
glorify God in your body, and in your fpirit, which are 
God's — The leve of Chrift conflrmneth us, becaufe we thus 
judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead : and 
that he died for all, that they who live fhould not henceforth 
live unto themfelves, but unto him who died for them, and 
rcfe a°ain- — The day of the Lord will come as a thief in 
the night, in the which the heavens fhall pafs away with a 
great noife, and the elements fhall melt with fervent heat : 
ihe earth alfo, nnd the works thai are therein, Jhall be burnt 
up. Seeing then that all thefe things flj all be diffolved, what 
manner cfperfons ought ye to be, in all holy " converfation and 
godlinefs, looking for, and hafening unto the coming of the 
day of God ! — Hold fafl that which thou haft ; let no man 
fake thy crown ! — To him that overcometh will I grant to 
ft down with me in my throne, even as I alfo overcame } and 
am fei down with my Father in his throne.* 

Thefe are motives by which Chrlflians in every age 
have been induced to praclife that morality, which 
Bolingbrcke, Paine, and many others, while ( writing 
again!! Chriftiarrity, have been compelled to applaud : 
but the far greater part of them are rejected by deifts ; 
aifd what will they fubftitute of equal efficacy in their 
place? The love cf Chrift conftraineth us; but what 
have they to conftrain them ? Will feif-love, or the 
beauty or utility of virtue anfwer the purpofe ; Let 
hiftory and obfervation determine. 

It may be alleged, however, that deifts do not reject 
the whole of thefe important motives ; for that fome of 
them at leaft admit the doctrine of a future life, which, 
with the acknowledgment of one living and true God, 
may be thought fufflcient for all the purpofes of mo- 
rality. 

* Johu Hi. 1 8. i John, !m 10, u. Ep'h. iv. 31, v. i, 2. 
I Pet. ii. 9. 2 Ccr. vi, 17, 18. vii. 1. Phil* ii. 1, 2, 3. I Pet. ii. 
11, 12. i Cor. vi. 20, % Cor, v, 3:4. 15. 2 Pet. iii. 10, IX, 12. 
Rev. iii. 11, 21, 



Chap. IV.] Motives to a virtuous Life. 



45 



That the doctrine of a future life is of great import- 
ance in the moral fyftem, is allowed •, but the greateft 
truth, if diffevered from other truths of equal impor- 
ance, will be diverted of its energy. A hand diffev- 
ered from the body might as well be reprefented as 
fufficient for the purpofes of labour, as one or two un- 
connected principles for the purpofe of morality. This 
is actually the cafe in the prefent inftance. The doc- 
trine of a future life, as held by Chrrftians, has ftimu- 
lated them to labour and fufFer without intermiffion. 
From a refpetl to this recompenfe of reward, a kingdom 
has been refufed, where the acceptance of it would 
have interfered with a good confcience. Yea, life 
itfelf has been facrificed, and that not in a few, but 
in innumerable inftances, where it could not be re- 
tained but at the expenfe of truth and uprightnefs. 
But is it thus amongft deifts ? Does the doctrine of a 
future life, as held by them, produce any fuch effects ? 
When was it known, or heard of, that they facrificed 
any thing for this, or any other principle of a moral 
nature ? Who amongft them ever thought of fuch a 
thing ; or who expected it at their hands ? 

But this is not all : there is fuch a connexion in 
truth, that if one part of it be given up, it will render 
us lefs friendly towards other parts, and fo deftroy 
their efficacy. This alfo is actually the cafe in the 
prefent inftance. Our adverfaries do not cordially 
embrace even this truth ; but on the contrary are con- 
tinually undermining it, and rendering it of no effect. 
Lord Herbert, it is true, confidered it as an effential 
article of natural religion ; and it was his opinion that 
he could fcarcely be accounted a reafonable creature 
who denied it : but this is far from being the cafe 
with later deiftical writers ; the greater part of whom 
either deny it, or reprefent it as a matter of doubt. 
Some of them difown every principle by which it is 
fupported, and others go fo far as to hold it up to rid- 
icule, labouring withal to prove the hope of it un- 
friendly to the difinterefted love of virtue. 



46 Motives to a virtuous Life, £Paut L 

Volney in his Law of Nature, or Catechifm for French 
Citizens, fays nothing about it. — Paine juft touches up- 
on it in the outfet of his Age of Reafon, by informing 
us, that " He hopes for happinefs beyond this life 
but as happinefs has its counterpart, and ftands upon 
the general doctrine of retribution, he is afraid to fay 
he believes it. It m-uft be reduced to a mere matter 
of " probability," left the thoughts of it mould damp 
him in his prefent purfuits, and render him " theilave 
" of terror."* 

Bolingbroke, though he acknowledges its antiquity, 
and great utility in promoting virtue, yet reprefents it 
as a " mere invention of philofophers and leg-ill ators,** 
and as being " originally an hypothefis, and which 
« may therefore be a vulgar error." " Reafon," he 
fays, " will neither affirm nor deny a future itate." 
By this the reader might be led to expect that this 
writer was neither for it, nor againft it ; yet the 
whole of his reafonings are directed to undermine it f 

Hume, like the writer laft mentioned, acknowledges 
the utility of the doctrine, but queftions its truth. He 
would not have people difabufed, or delivered from 
fuch a prejudice, becaufe it would free them from one 
reftraint upon their paffions. Any perfon who fhould 
undertake this work, he allows, would be a bad citi- 
zen ; yet he might, for aught he knows, be a good 
reafoner.± 

Shaftefbury goes farther : he employs all his wit and 
fatire in endeavouring to raife a laugh at the very idea, 
reprefenting the heathen world as very happy till Chrif- 
tianity arole, and teazed them about a hereafter. — 
« A new fort of policy," fays he, r < which extends it- 
« f felf to another world, and confiders the future lives 
« and happinefs of men rather than the prefent, has 
« made us leap beyond the bounds of natural human- 
« ity, and out of a fupernatural charity has taught us ' 
» the way of plaguing one another moft devoutly. "j "J 

* Age of Reafon, Pt. I. p, I. Pt. II. p. 100, 101. 
f Works, Vol. V. \ Philofophical Eflays, p. 

§ Characterises, Vol, I. p. *8. 



Chap. IV.] Hhiives to a virtuous Life. 



47 



Lord Shaftefbury's wit may very well be paffed by 
as being what it is : it fuffices, in c-onnexion with the 
foregoing quotations, to (hew us what efficacy the 
doctrine of a future life, as held by deifts, may be ex- 
pected to pofiefs. But this writer is not contented 
with raillery he miift alfo attempt to reafon againft 
the doctrine, contending that it has a pernicious in- 
fluence on the morals of men ; that it is a mercenary 
principle, and oppofed to the difinterefted love of vir- 
tue for its own fake. " The principle of felf-love," 
he obferves, " which is naturally fo prevailing in us, 
" is improved, and made ftronger by the exercife of 
" the palftons on a fubject of more extended intereft : 
" and there may be reafon to apprehend that a temper 
t( of this kind will extend itfelf through all the parts 
< f of life. And this has a tendency to create a ftricter 
<( attention to felf-good and private intereft, and muft 
« infennbly diminifh the affection towards public 
i( good, or the intereft: of fociety, and introduce a 
*< certain narrownefs of fpirit, which is obfervable in 
u the devout perfons and zealots of almoft every re- 
« ligious perfuafion."* 

This objedtionj the reader will recollect, is in direct: 
contradiction to the principles of Bolingbroke, and it 
may be added,- of Volney, and other deiftical writers, 
who maintain felf-love to be the origin of virtuous 
affection. Some Chriftian writers, in anfwering it, 
have given up the doctrine of difinterefted love, allow- 
ing that all religious affection is to be traced to the 
love which we bear to ourfelves as its firft principle. 
To me this appears no other than betraying the truth, 
and ranking Chriftianity with every fpecies of ap^ftacy 
and falfe religion, which have at any time prevailed in 
the world. A clear idea of the nature of felf-love, if 
I miftake not, will enable us to determine this quef- 
tion, and to anfwer the deiftical objection without 
rendering Chriftianity a mercenary fyltem. 

Every man may be confidered either fingly, or con- 
nectedly ; either as a being by himfelf, or as a link in 
* Character iftics, Vol. II. p. j8. 



4 8 Motives to a virtuous Life. [?ART I. 



a certain chain of beings. Under one or other of 
thefe views every man confiders himfelf while purfu- 
ing his own interefl. If the former, this is to make 
himfelf the ultimate end of his actions, and to love 
all other beings, created or uncreated, only as they 
fubferve his interefl or his pleafure ; this is private 
felf-iove ; this is mean, and mercenary, and what we 
commonly underftand by the term felfijhnefs. But if 
the latter, there is nothing mean or felfifh in it. He 
who feeks his own well-being in connexion with the 
general good, feeks it as he ought to do. No man is 
required directly to oppofe his own welfare, though 
in fome inftances he may be required to facrifiee it 
for the general good. Neither is it neceffary that he 
mould be indifferent towards it. — Reafon, as well as 
fcripture, requires us to love ourfelves as we love our 
neighbour. To this may be added, every man is not 
only a link in the chain of intelligent beings, and fo 
deferving of fome regard from himfelf, as well as from 
others •, but every man's perfcn, family, and connex- 
ions, and ft ill more the concerns of his foul, are, as it 
were, his own vineyard, over the interefts of which it 
is his peculiar province to exercifs a watchful care* 
Only let the care of himfelf and his immediate con- 
nexions be in fubferviency to the general good, and 
there is nothing mercenary in it. 

I need net multiply arguments to prove that the 
doclrine of rewards does not neceflarily tend to en- 
courage a mercenary fpirit, or that it is confident 
with the difinterefted love of virtue. Lord Shaftef- 
bury himfelf has acknowledged this. " If by the hope 
" of reward,"' he fays, " be underftood the love and 
« defifW>f virtuous enjoyment, or of the very practice 
" or exercife of virtue in another life, the expectation 
" or hope of this kind is fo far from being derogatory 
" to virtue, that ic is an evidence of our loving it the 
" more fincerely, and for its own fake."* — This An- 
gle conceffion contains an anfwer to all which his 

* Characterises, Vol. It p. 6j, 66. 
■ Jtf 



Chap. IV.] Motives to a virtuous Life. 



49 



lordfbip has advanced on the fubje£t : for the rewards 
promifed in the gofpel are all exactly of the descrip- 
tion which he mentions. It is true they are often 
reprefented under the images of earthly things ; but 
this does not prove that in themfelves they are not pure 
and Spiritual. That there is nothing in them adapted 
to gratify a mercenary fpirit, the following obferva- 
tions will render plain to the meaneft capacity. 

Firft, The nature of heavenly enjoyments is fuch as 
to admit of no monopoly, and confequently to leave 
no room for the exercife of private felf-love. Like 
the beams of the fun, they are equally adapted to give 
joy to a world as to an individual : nay, fo far is an 
increafe in the number of the participants from di- 
minifhing the quantum of happinefs poflefTed by each 
individual, that it has a tendency to increafe it. The 
intereft of one is the intereft of all j and the intereft; 
of all extends to every one. 

Secondly, The fum of heavenly enjoyments confifts 
in a holy likenefs to God, and in the eternal enjoy- 
ment of his favour.* But holy likenefs to God is the 
fame thing as *< the very practice or exercife of virtue," 
the hope of which Lord Shaftefbury acknowledges 
" is fo far from being derogatory to it, that it is an 
M evidence of our loving it the more fincerely, and for 
its own fake." And as to the enjoyment of the divine 
favour, a proper purfuit of this object, inftead of being 
at variance with difmterefted affection, clearly implies 
it ; for no man can truly defire the favour of God as 
his chief good, without a proportionate efteem of his 
character, and that for its own excellency. It is im- 
poffible that the favour of any being whofe character 
we difapprove, fhould be fought as our chief good, in 
preference to every other object in the univerfe. But 
a cordial approbation of the divine characler is the 
fame thing as a difmterefted affection to virtue. 

Thirdly, The only method by which the rewards 
of the gofpel are attainable, faith in Ghrift, fecures 
E 2 

* i. John, jffjj Per xxVjh 4, 



Motives to a virtuous Life, [Part I. 



the exercife of difmterefted and enlarged virtue. No 
man has any warrant from the fcriptures to expect an 
intereft in the promifes of the gofpel, unlefs he cordi- 
ally acquiefce in his mediation. But to acquiefce in 
this, is to acquiefce in the holy government of God, 
which it was defigned to glorify ; to feel and ac- 
knowledge that we deferved to have been made facri- 
fices to divine difpleafure to forego all claim or hope 
of mercy from every felfifh confideration j and to be 
willing to receive forgivenefs as an act of mere grace, 
and along with the chief of finners. In fine, to acqui- 
efce in this, is to be of one heart with the Saviour of 
finners, which, our adverfaries themfelves being judges, 
is the fame thing as to be filled with devoutnefs to 
God, and benevolence to men ; and this, if any thing 
deferves that name, is true, difinterefted and enlarged 
virtue. 

It is very pollible that the objections which are made 
by this writer, as well as Mr. Paine and others, againft 
the doctrine of rewards, as being fervile and merce- 
nary, may after all, in reality, be againft their counter- 
fart. — It dees not appear to be " the hope of happinefs 
" beyond this life" that excites their difguft, though 
the nature of the Chrifiian's happinefs might be difa- 
greeable to them ; but the fear of being " called to ac- 
" count for the manner in which they have lived in this 
" world." This it is which even the daring author of 
The Age cf Reafon cannot endure to confider as a cer- 
tainty, as the thought of it would render him " the 
" Have of terror." Yet, as though he would not have 
it thought that the dread of futurity rendered him 
afraid of believing it, he alleges another reafen. 
" Our belief, on this principle," he fays, " would have 
f « no merit, and our beft actions no virtue."* In or- 
der then to our actions being virtuous, it is iiecefi~ary> 
it feems, that we be under no law but that of our own 
inclination and this will be loving virtue for its own 
fake. This is at once making off the divine authority 3, 

* Age of Reafoo, Part II. p. 100, low 



Chap. IV.] Motives to a virtuous Life. 5 1 

which, if it could be accomplimed, might be very 
agreeable to fome men ; and if, with this they could 
get fairly rid of a judgment to come, it might be {till 
more agreeable : but, alas, if they mould be miftaken ! 

It is a fact that the paffions of hope and fear are 
planted in our nature by Him who made us *, and it 
may be prefumed they are not planted there in vain. 
The proper exercife of the former has, I conceive, 
been proved to be confident with the pureft, and more 
difinterefted love ; and the fame thing is proveable of 
the latter. The hope and fear againft which thefe 
writers declaim, are thofe of a fiave ; and where love 
is abfent, thefe, it is granted, are the only effects 
which the doctrine of rewards and punifhments will 
produce. But even here they have their ufe. Terror 
is the grand principle by which vicious minds are kept 
in awe. Without this, their licentioufnefs would be 
intolerable to fociety. It is not, however, for the mere 
purpofe of reftraint, that threatenings are exhibited, 
but to exprefs the difpleafure of God againft all un- 
righteoufnefs and ungodlinefs of men, and his refolu- 
tion to punifh it. Some are hereby taught the evil of 
their ways to a good purpofe, and all are fairly warned, 
and their perfeverance in fin is rendered inexcufable. 

Before our adverfaries object to this, they mould 
{hew the impropriety of human laws being accompa- 
nied with penalties. Let them furnifh us with a fyftem 
of government in which men may be guilty of crimes 
without fear of being called to account for them ; and 
in which thofe who are enemies to virtue are to be 
governed merely by the love of it. If it be improper to 
threaten finners, it is improper to punifh them ; and if 
it be improper to punifh them, it is improper for moral 
government to be exercifed. But if it be thus in the 
government of God, there is no good reafon to be giv- 
en why it lhould not be the fame in human govern- 
ments that is, there is no good reafon why fervants, 
unlefs they chcofe to do otherwife, mould not difobey 
their mafters, children their parents, and private indi- 



Motives to a virtuous Life, 



[Fart L 



viduals in a ftate be continually rifing up to deftroy all 
juft authority. 

The above may fuffice to afcertain the weight of 
Lord Shaftefoury's objections to the doctrine of re- 
wards \ raid now I (hall take the liberty to retort the 
charge, and attempt to prove that the epithets H narrow 
" and felfifh,^ which he applies to the Chriftian fyftem, 
properly belong to his own, 

In. his- Inquiry concerning Virtue^ contained in the 
fecond volume of his. Characleri/Iics, though he allows 
it to confift in our being proportionably affecled to- 
wards the whole fyftem to which we bear a relation ;** 
and that this world may be only a part of a more ex- 
fended fyftem ;f yet he ftudioufly leaves out God as* 
the head of it. Amongft all the relations which he 
enumerates, there is no mention of that between the 
creature and his Creator. His enlarged and difinter— 
efted fcheme of morality is at laft nothing more than 
for a creature to regard thofe " of its own kind or 
u fpecies." Not only is all gentlenefs, kindnefs, and 
compaflion to inferior creatures left out, but the love 
of God is not in it. On the contrary, it is the pro- 
fefied object of his Inquiry to prove that virtue, good- 
nefs, or moral excellency, may exift without religion,, 
and even " in an atheift."! In fbort, it is manifeft 
that it is the love of God, and not felf-love, to which, 
his love of virtue for its own fake ftands oppofed. That 
for which, he pleads is the impious fpirit of a child,, 
who, difregarding his father's favour, pays no attention 
to his commands, as his commands ; but complies with: 
them only on account of their approving themfelves to 
his own mind. But this is no other than felf-will,. 
which, inftead of being oppofed to felf-love, is one 
of its genuine exercifes. 

" Our holy religion," fays this fneering writer,, 
sc takes but little notice of the moft heroic virtues, 
w fuch as zeal for the public, and our country.''^ 

* Page 17. f P. 20. f.P. 61 
§ Charatteriftics, Vol. I. p. 98, 99.^, 



Chap. IV.] Motives to a virtuous Life, 53 



That Chriftianity takes but little notice of what is 
commonly called patriotifm, is admitted ; and if Lord 
Shaftefbury had been free from that « narrownefs of 
" mind" which it is his intention here to cenfure *, 
yea, if he had only kept to his own definition of vir- 
tue, " A regard to thofe of our own kind or fpecies," 
he would have taken as little. By the public good he 
evidently means no more than the temporal profperity 
of a particular country •, which is to be fought at the 
expenfe of all other countries with whom it happens, 
juftly or unjuftly, to be at variance. Chriftianity, we 
acknowledge, knows nothing of this fpirit. It is fupe- 
rior to it. It is not natural for a Chriftian to enter 
into the antipathies, or embroil himfelf in the conten- 
tions of a nation, however he may be occafionally draw r n 
into them. His foul is much more in i^s element when 
breathing after the prefent and future happinefs of a 
world. In undertakings, both public and private, 
which tend to alleviate the miferies and enlarge the 
comforts of human life, Chriftians have ever been fore- 
moft ; and when they have conceived themfelves law- 
fully called even into the field of battle, they have not 
been wanting in valour. But the heroifm to which 
they principally afpire is of another kind : it is that of 
fubduing their own fpirit, doing good againft evil, 
feeking the prefent and eternal well-being of thofe 
who hate them, and laying down their lives if requir- 
ed, for the name of our Lord Jefus. 

Such is the " narrow fpirit" of Chriftians ; and 
fuch have been their " felfifh purfuits." But thefe 
are things which do not emblazon their names in the 
account of unbelievers. The murderers of mankind 
will be applauded before them. But they have 
enough : their blood is precious in the fight of the 
Lord, and their names are embalmed in the memory 
of the upright, 



54 ConduB of Believers and Unbelievers. [Part I* 



CHAP. V. 

The lives of ihfe who rejefi the Go/pel will not bear at 
cowparifofi with theirs who embrace it* 

No books are fo plain as the lives of men ; no char- 
acters are fo legible as their moral conduct. If the 
principles of a body of men will not bear this criterion,, 
we may expect to hear them exclaim againft it as un- 
fair, and uncertain ; but when they have faid ail, they 
will endeavour to avail themfelves of it, if poffible. It 
is thus that the virtues of idolaters are the conftant 
theme of deiftical panegyric; and all the corruptions,, 
intrigues, perfecutions, wars, and mifehiefs, which of 
late ages have afflicted the earth, are charged to the 
account of Chriftians. It is thus that Chriflian min- 
ifters, under the name of priejls> are defcribed as mer- 
cenary, defigning, and hypocritical j and the lives of 
hectoring profligates praifed in comparison, of them.* 
In fhort, it is thus that Chriftians are aceufed of fanat- 
icifm, affectation, ingratitude., prefumption, and almofl 
every thing elfe that is mean and bale ; and men are 
perfuaded to become dtifts, with an afTurance that by 
fo doing they will " live more confidently and morally,. 
" than by any other fyftem."-f- 

But. let us examine whether thefe reprefentations * 
accord with fact. Is it fact that the ancient philofo- 
phers of Greece and Rome were virtuous characters? 
— It is true that, like the deifts, they talked and wrote 
much about virtue, and if the latter may be believed,, 
they were very virtuous. <c They oppofed each other," 
fays Voltaire, " in their dogmas ; but in morality they 
" were all agreed." After loading each of them with, 
encomiums, he fums it up by affirming, " There has 

been no phiiofopher in all antiquity who has not been 

* Hume's Eflays, Moral and Political, Eflay XXIV. 
f Age of Reafon, Part I. p. %i t 



C^HAP. V.] ConduEl of Believers and Unbelievers. 55 



« defirous of making men better."* This is a very 
favourable report ; and, if well founded, the writer of 
the firft chapter of the epiftle to the Romans muft not 
only have dealt Jargely in calumny, but have poffeffed 
the moft confummate effrontery, to addrefs fuch an 
epiftle to the citizens of Rome, who, from their own 
knowledge, muft have been able to contradict him. 
There are other reports, however, of a very different 
complexion. 

It is no part of my defign to enter minutely into 
this fubjecl: ; nor is it neceffary. Many able writers 
have proved, from the moil authentic fources of infor- 
mation, that the account given of the heathens by the 
apoftle is not exaggerated. An extract or two from 
their writings will be fuflicient for my purpofe. 

" Epicletus bids you temporize, and ivorfhip the gods 
** after the fafhion of your country.^ Pythagoras forbids 
ft you to pray to God, becaufe you know mt what is conve- 
st nient"% Plutarch commends Cato Uticenfis for kill- 
ing himfelf amidft philofophic thoughts, with refolu- 
tion and deliberation, after reading Plato on the im- 
mortality of the foul. J Cicero pleads for felf-murder. 
Herein he was feconded by Brutus, Caflius, and oth- 
ers who practifed it. Many of their learned men 
applauded their opinion and practice. Seneca thus 
pleads for it : " If thy mind be melancholy and in 
4t mifery, thou mayeft put a period to this wretched 
* ( condition : wherever thou looked, there is an end 
« to it. See that precipice ; there thou mayeft have 
f< liberty. Seeft thou that fea, that river, that well ? 
*< liberty is at the bottom of it : that little tree ? free- 
" dom hangs upon it : thy own neck, thy own throat 
« may be a refuge to thee, from fuch fervitude •, yea, 
« every vein of thy body."|| 

* Ignorant Philofopher, p. 60. 

f Enchiridion, Cap. 38. pag. m. 56. 

J Diog. Laertius. 

§ Plutarch's Life of Cato, near the end, 
11 De ira. Lib. 3, Cap. 15, pag. m. 319, 



56 Condutl of Believers and Unbelievers. [Part I, 



¥ We may find in the heathen philofophers cuftom- 
<( ary fwearing commended if not by their precepts, 
" yet by the examples of their beft moralifts. Plato, 
" Socrates, Seneca, and Julian the emperor, in whofe 
<f works numerous oaths by Jupiter, llercules, the Sun, 
" Serapis, and the like, do occur. la the fame man- 
<£ ner we fee the unnatural love of boys recommend- 
" ed."* " Ariftippus maintained that it was lawful 
u for a wife man to fleal, commit adultery, and facrilege 9 
** when opportunity offered ; for that none of thefe atlicns 
u were naturally evil, Jetting afide the vulgar opinicn y 

which was introduced into the world by filly and illit- 
€( erate people — that a wife man might publickly, without 
<( fhame or fcandal, keep company with common harlots, if 
u his inclinations led him to it" " May not a beautiful 
<( woman be made ufe of, he afks, becaufe {he is fair : 
" or a youth becaufe he is lovely ? Certainly they may"\ 

If, as Voltaire afferts, it was the defire of thefe phi- 
lofophers to make men better, affuredly they employed 
very extraordinary means to accomplish their defire. 

"What are the lives recorded by Plutarch ? Many of 
them no doubt entertained a high fenfe of honour, and 
pofTefTed a large portion of patriotifm. But were either 
of thefe morality ? If by this term he meant fuch dif- 
pofitions of the mind as are right, fit and amiable, it 
was not. Their fenfe of honour was not of that kind 
which made them fcorn to do evil - 9 but like the falfe 
honour of modern duellifts, confifted merely in a dread 
of difgrace. It induced many of them to carry about 
them the fatal means of felf-deftruftion ; and rather 
than fall into the hands of an adverfary, to make ufe 
of them. And as to their patriotifm, generally fpeak- 
ing, it operated not merely in the prefervation of their 
country, but in endeavours to extend and aggrandize 
it, at the expenfe of other nations* It was a patriot- 
ifm inconfiftent with juftice and good will to men. 
Add to this, that fornication, adultery and unnatural 
crimes were common amongft them. 

* Juvenal Satyr If. Ver. 10. 

f Diog. Laertius, Vol. I. pag. m. 165, 1 66. See in Millar's Hif* 
tory of the Propagation of Chriftianity, Vol. I. p. 63, 64, 6j, 



Chap. V. J ConduR of Believers and Unbelievers. 57 

As to the moral ftate of fociety among heathens, 
both ancient and modern, we may have occafion to 
confider this a little more particularly hereafter. At 
prefent I would inquire, Is it fact that the perfec- 
tions, intrigues, wars, and mifchiefs of late ages are 
to be charged to the account of Chriftianity ? 

With regard to perfecution, nothing is more common 
with our adverfaries than to lay it wholly at our door. 
They are continually alleging that the heathens all 
agreed to tolerate each other till Chrifttanity arofe. — 
Thus writes Shaftefbury,* Hume,f Voltaire,;); Gib- 
bon, § and Paine. || That the heathens tolerated each 
other before the introduction of Chriftianity, is allow- 
ed ; and they did the fame after it. It was not againft 
each other that their enmity was directed. In the di- 
verfity of their idols and modes of worfhip, there were 
indeed different admimjlrations y but it was the fame lord t 
whereas, in the religion of Jefus Chrift there was noth- 
ing that could afibciate with heathenifm, but every 
thing that threatened its utter fubverfion. 

It is allowed alfo that individual perfecution, except 
in a few inftances, commenced with Chriftianity : but 
who began the practice ? Was it Jefus that perfecut- 
«d Herod and Pontius Pilate ; or they him ? Did 
Peter, and James, and John, and Paul fet up for in- 
quifitors, and perfecute the Jews and Romans ; or the 
Jews and Romans them ? Did the primitive Chrif- 
tians difcover any difpofition to perfecute ? By whom 
was Europe deluged over with blood in ten fucceflive 
perfecutions during the three firft centuries ? Were 
Christians the authors of this ? When the church 
had fo far degenerated as to imbibe many of the prin- 
ciples and fuperftitions of the heathen, then indeed it 
began to imitate their perfecuting fpirit ; but not be- 
fore. When ChrihVs kingdom was transformed into 
a kingdom of this world, the weapons of its warfare 

•* Chara&eriftics, Vol. I. p. i8. f Effay on Parties. 

\ Ignor. Philof. p. 83. § Hift. of Decl. Ch. II. p. 29, 

\ Age of Reafon, Part II. Pref. 

F 



$8 ConduB of Believers and Unbelievers. [Part I, 



might be expected to become carnal, and to be no 
longer as formerly, mighty through God. 

The religious perfecutions among Chriftians have 
been compared to the maflacres attending the French 
Revolution in the times of Robefpierre. The horrid 
barbarities of the latter, it has been faid, by way of 
apology, fi have not even been equal to thofe of the 
** former." If deifts may be allowed to confound 
Chriftianity and Popery, I {hall not difpute the juft- 
nefs of the comparison. There is no doubt a great 
refemblance between the Papal and the infidel fpirit ; 
or rather they are one. Both are the fpirit of this 
world, which is averfe to true religion. The differ- 
ence between them is but as that between the wolf 
and the tyger.* But thofe who reafon thus, fhould 
prove that the reformers in religion have been guilty 
of as great excefTes as the deiftical reformers in pol- 
itics. Were there any fuch afialli nations amongft the 
Proteftants towards one another, or towards the Pa- 
pifts, as have been wantonly committed by infidels,-? 
It is true there were examples of perfecution amongft 
Proteftants, and fuch as will ever remain a difhonour 
to the parties concerned ; but thofe which affecled the 
lives of men were few in number, compared with the 
other, and thofe few, cenfurable as they are, were not 
performed by afTafli nation. 

Mr. Paine affirms that " all fe&s of Chriftians, ex- 
« cept the Quakers, have perfecuted in their turn." 
That much of this fpirit has prevailed is too true : but 
this afTertion is unfounded. I could name more de-r 
nominations than one, whofe hands I believe uere 
never ftained with blood, and whofe avowed princi- 
ples have always been in favour of univerfal liberty of 
confeience. 

But let us inquire into the principles and fpirit of 
our adverfaries on this fubjecl:. It is true that almoft 

* The refemblance between Popery and infidelity is pointed out 
with great beauty and energy in a piece which has appeared in 
fome of the periodical publications, entitled, The Progrtfs of the 
Moderns in knowledge, refinement, and virtue* See TheoJ« Mag, Vol, l e 

#fo. V. p. 344. Evang. Mag. Vol. IV, p. 405. 



Chap. V.] ConduEl of Believers and Unbelievers. 5$ 

all their writers have defended the caufe ofliberty, and 
levelled their cenfures againft perfecution. But where 
is the man that is not an enemy to this practice when 
it is direcied againft himfelfi* Have they difcovered a 
proper regard to the rights of confeience among Chrif- 
tians ? This is the queftion. There may be individu- 
als among them who have ; but the generality of their 
writers difcover a (hameful partiality in favour of their 
own fide, and a contemptuous difregard of all who 
have fufFered for the name of Chrift. While they ex- 
hibit perfecution in its defervediy infamous colours, 
they as constantly hold up the perfecuted, if found 
among Chrifiians, in a difadvantageous point of view. 
Mr. Hume allows that " the perfecutions of Chriftians 
" in the early ages were cruel but lays the blame 
chiefly on themielves :* and all through his Hi/lory of 
England he palliates the conduct of the perfecutors, 
and reprefents the perfecuted in an unfavourable light. 
The fame may be faid of Gibbon in his Hi/lory of the 
Decline of the Roman Empire j of Shaftefbury in his 
Charatlerijlics^ and indeed of the generality of the de- 
iftical writers. Voltaire, boafting of the wifdom and 
moderation of the ancient Romans, fays, " they never 
" perfecuted a fmgle philofopher for his opinions, from 
" the time of Romulus till the popes got poffeffion of 
M their power."f But did they not perfecute Chrif- 
tians ? The millions of lives that fell a facrifice in the 
firft three centuries after the Chriftian era, are con- 
fidered as nothing by Voltaire. The benevolence of 
this apoftle of deifm feels not for men if they happen 
to be believers in Chrift. If an Ariftotle, a Pythago- 
ras, or a Galileo fufFer for their opinions, they are 
" martyrs :" but if a million of French Proteftants 
" from a defire to bring back things to the primitive 
« inftitutes of the church," endure the moft cruel 
treatment, or quit their country to efcape it, they, ac- 
cording to this writer, are " weak and obftinate men." 

* Eflay on Parties in general, 
f Ignorant Philofopher, p. 8*, 83. 



60 ConduB of Believers and Unbelievers. [Part L 



Say, reader, Are thefe men friends to religious lib- 
erty ? What does all their declamation againft perfe- 
ction amount to but this, that fuch of them who 
refide in chriftianized countries wilh to enjoy their 
opinions without being expofed to it ? 

Till of late, deiils have been in the minority in all 
the nations of Europe, and have therefore felt the ne- 
ceffity of a free enjoyment of opinion. It is not what 
they have pleaded under thofe circumftances, but their 
conduct when in power, that muft prove them friends 
to religious liberty. Few men are known to be what 
they are, until tried. They and Proteftant Diflenters 
have, in fome refpects, been in a fimiiar fituation. Of 
late, each, in a different country, have become the 
majority, and the civil power has been entrufted in 
their hands. The descendants of the Puritans in the 
weftern world, by difpenfing the bleflings of liberty 
even to Epifcopalians, by whofe perfections their an- 
ceftors were driven from their native Ihores, have 
fhewn themfelves worthy of the trull. But have the 
deifts acted thus in France, and other countries which 
have fallen into their hands ? It is true we believe them 
to have been the inHrnments in the hand of God of" 
deftroying the papal antichrift \ and in this view we 
rejoice ; howbeit, they meant not fo. If we judge of 
their proceedings towards the Catholics in the ordinary 
way of judging of human actions, which undoubtedly 
we ought, I fear it will be round not only perfecting,, 
but perfidious and bloody in rhe extreme. 

I am not without hope that liberty of confeience will' 
he preferred in France ; and if it mould, it will be 
feen whether the fubveriion of the national eftabli(h~ 
raent will prove, what the advifers of that meafure*, 
without doubt, expected, and what others who abhor- 
red it, apprehended, the extinction of Chriftianity. It 
may prove the reverfe, and ifTue in things which will 
more than balance all the ills attending the revolution. 
Thefe hopes, however, are not founded on an idea of 
the juft or tolerant fpirit of infidelity ; but, fo far as 
human motives are concerned, on that regard to con* 



Chap. V.] Conduit of Believers and Unbelievers. 61 



ftflency which is known to influence all mankind. If 
the leading men in France, after having fo liberally 
declaimed againft perfecution, mould ever enact laws 
in favour of it, or, in violation of the laws, encourage 
it, they muft appear in a mod difgraceful light in the 
opinion of the whole civilized world. 

Not only perfecution, but unjujl ivars, intrigues, and 
other mifchiefs, are placed to the account of Chrif- 
tianity. That fuch things have exifted, and that men 
who are called Chriftians have been deeply concerned 
in them, is true. Wicked men will act wickedly by 
whatever name they are called. "Whether thefe things 
be fairly attributable to the Chriftian religion, may be 
determined by a few plain inquiries. 

Firit : Did thefe evils commence with Chriftianity,, 
or have they increafed under its influence ? Has not 
the world, in every age with which hiftory acquaints 
vis, been a fcene of corruption, intrigue, tumult, and 
fiaughter ? All that can, with any face, be objected 
to Chriftianity is, that thefe things have continued in 
the world ?wHuithJianding its influence ; and that they 
have been practifed in as great a degree by men call- 
ing themfelves Chriftians as by any other perfons. 

Secondly : Are thofe who ordinarily engage in thefe 
practices real Chriftians ; and do our adverfaries them- 
felves account them fo ? They can diftinguifh, when 
they pleafe, between llncere and merely nominal Chrif- 
tians. They need not be told that great numbers in 
every nation are of that religion which happens to pre- 
vail at the time ; or rather that they are of no religion, 

Thirdly : Have not the courts of princes, notwith- 
Handing Chriftianity may have been the profefTed re- 
ligion of the land, been generally attended by a far 
greater proportion of deifts, than of ferious Chriftians ; 
and have not public meafures been directed by the 
counfels of the former much more than by thofe of 
the latter ? It is well known that great numbers among 
the nobility and gentry of every nation confider re- 
ligion as fuited only to vulgar minds j and therefore 
citfeer wholly abfent themfelves from public worfhij^ 



&z Conduct of Believers and Unbelievers, [Part I. 



or attend but feldom, and then only to fave appear- 
ances towards a national eftablifhment by which pro- 
viiion is made for the younger branches of their fami- 
lies. In ctlier words they are unbelievers. This is 
the defcription of men by which public affairs are 
commonly managed ; and to which the good or the 
evil pertaining to them, fo far as human agency is 
concerned, is to be attributed. 

Fourthly : Great as have been the evils abounding 
In nations profeffing Chriftianity, (and great they have 
been, and ought greatly to be deplored) can unbelievers 
pretend to have given us any hope at prefent of the 
ftate of things being meliorated ? It is true they have 
talked and written much in this way ; and many weil- 
wilhers to the human race have been difpofed to give 
them credit. But it is not words that will prove any 
thing. Have they done any thing that juftifies a hope 
of reformation ? No \ themfelyes muil firft be reform- 
ed ; or rather, to ufe an appropriate term of their own, 
regenerated. Far be it from me that in fuch a caufe 
as this, I mould write under the influence of national 
prejudice, or fide with the enemies of civil and re- 
ligious freedom ; but I muft fey, there never was a 
reprefentation more neceffary than that which was 
given in an addrefs from the Executive Directory of 
France to the Council of Five Hundred, about the be- 
ginning of the year t 706. In this addrefs they " re- 
" quell the rnoft earnelt attention of the Council to- 
u wards adopting feme meafure for the regeneration of 
M the public morals." This is the regeneration want- 
ed, and which, having rejected Chriftianity, they may 
be ever feeking, but will never be able to obtain. They 
may continue to revolutionize as long as a party fhali 
be found that willies for an increafe of power, and 
perceives an opportunity of gaining it ; and every party, 
in its turn, may talk of " faving liberty but never 
will they he free indeed until they are emancipated in 
feme good degree from the dominion of vice *, and 
never will this be effected but by a knowledge of evan- 
gelical truth, 



Chap; V.] Conduft cf Believers and Unbelievers. 6j 

The friends of legitimate liberty have deeply to re- 
gret, that under that revered name has been perpetrat- 
ed almoft every fpecies or atrocity ; and that not only 
towards individuals, but nations, and nations the moft 
peaceable and inoirenGve, whofe only crime was that 
of being unable to refift. Liberty has fuffered more 
from the hands of infidels,, amidlt all their fuccefTes 
and declamations, than from its profeffed enemies ; 
and ftill it bleeds beneath their wounds. "Without 
entering into political difputes, I may fafely affirm, 
that if ever the nations of the earth be bleffed with, 
equal liberty, it will be by the prevalence, not of the 
pretended illuminations of infidel phiiofophy, but of 
that do£trine which teaches us to do unto others- as ive 
ivould that others Jhould do unto us. 

Finally : Mr. Paine affirms, that men, by becoming, 
deifts, would « live more confidently and morally than 
» by any other fyftem." As to living more confidently, 
it is poffible there may be fome truth in it ; for the 
beft Chriftians, it muft be allowed, have many imper- 
fections, which are but fo many inconfiftencies ; 
whereas, by complying with this advice, they would 
be uniformly wicked. And as to their living more 
morally, if Mr. Paine could coin a new fyftem of mor- 
als, from which the love of God fhould be excluded, 
and intemperance, incontinency, pride, profane fwear- 
ing, curfing, lying, and hypocrify exalted to the rank 
of virtues, he might very probably make good his af- 
fertion. 

Mr. Paine profefTes to "deteft the Bible on account 
" of its obfcene {lories, voluptuous debaucheries, cruel 
«< executions, and unrelenting viodielivenefs/ 5 * That 
the Bible relates fuch things, is true ; and every im- 
partial hiftory of mankind muft do the fame. The 
queftion is, Whether they be fo related as to leave a 
favourable impreffion of them upon the mind of a fe~ 
rious reader. If fo, and if the Bible be that immoral 
book which Mr. Paine reprefents it to be, how is it 



f Agt cf R'eafon, Part I, p. i%, 



#4 Conduct of Believers and Unbelievers. [Part L 



that the reacting of it fhould have reclaimed millions 
from immorality ? Whether he will acknowledge this 
or not, it is a fact too notorious to be denied by impar- 
tial obiervers. Every man refiding in a Chriftian court- 
try will acknowledge, (unlefs he have an end to anfwer 
in faying otherwife) that thofe people who read the 
Bible, believe its doctrines, and endeavour to form 
their lives by its precepts, are the moll fober, upright, 
and ufeful members of the community : and that thofe, 
on the other hand, who difcredit the Bible, and re- 
nounce it as the rule of their lives, are, generally 
fpeaking, addicted to the grofleft vices ; fuch as pro- 
fane fwearing, lying, drunkennefs, and lewdnefs. It 
is very fmgular, I repeat it, that men, by regarding an 
immoral book, fhould learn to pra£tife morality and 
that others, by difregarding it, fhould learn the contrary.. 

How is it, that in countries where Chriftianity has 
made progrefs, men have almoft univerfally agreed in 
reckoning a true Chriftian, and an amiable, open, mod- 
ell, chafte, confcientious, and benenevolent character, 
as the fame thing t How is it, alfo, that to fay of a 
man " he rejects the Bible," is nearly the fame thing, 
in the account of people in general, as to fay, he is a 
man of a diiTolute life I If there were not a general 
connexion between thefe things,, public opinion would 
not fo generally affociate them. Individuals, and even 
parties, may be governed by prejudice \ but public 
opinion of character is feidom far from the truth., 
Befides, the prejudices of merely nominal ChriftianSj 
fo far as my obfervation extends, are equally ftrong,, 
if not ftronger, againft thofe Chriftians who are dif- 
tinguifiied by their devout and ferious regard to the 
Scriptures, than againft profefTed infidels. How is it, 
then, to be accounted for, that although they will call 
them fanatics, enthufiafts, and other unpleafant names, 
yet it is very, rare that they reckon them immoral ? If, 
as is fometimes the cafe, they accufe them of unwor^ 
thy motives, and infinuate that in fecret they are as 
wicked as others, either fuch infinuations are not 
ferioufly believed, or, if they be, the party is confider- 



ChAP.'V.] Condutl of Believers and Unbelievers. 6$ 



ed as infincere in his profeilion. No man thinks that 
genuine Chriftianity confifts with a wicked life, open 
or fecret. But the ideas of infidelity and immorality 
are aflbciated in the public mind ; and the affociation 
is clear and itrong ; fo much fo, as to become a ground 
of a&ion. Whom do men ordinarily choofe for um- 
pires, truftees* guardians, and the like ? Doubtlefs. 
•they endeavour to felect perfons of intelligence ; but 
if to this be added ChriJH'an principle is it not of weight 
in thefe cafes ? It is feldom known, I believe, but that 
a ferious intelligent Chriitian, whofe fituation in the 
world renders him converfant with its concerns, will 
have his hands full of employment/ -*Alk bankers, 
merchants, tradefmen, and others who arc frequently 
looking out for perfons of probity, whom they may 
place in fituations of trull, in whofe hands they would 
ehoofe to confide their property ? They might objecl, 
and with good reafon, to perfons whofe religion ren- 
dered them pert, conceited and idle ; but would they 
not prefer one who really makes the Bible the rule of 
his life, to one who profeffedly rejects it ? The com- 
mon praclice in thefe cafes affords a fufficient anfwer. 

How is it that the principles and reafonings of infi- 
dels, though frequent ly accompanied with great natur- 
al and acquired abilities, are feldom known to make 
any imprefiicn on fober people ? Is it not becaufe the 
men and their communications are known ?* How is* 

* It is faid of gentleman lately deceafed, who was eminent in- 
the literary world, that in early life he drank deeply into the free- 
thinking lcfteme. He and one of his companions, of ihe fame turn' 
of mind, often carried on their converfations in the hearing of a 
religious, but illiterate countryman. This gentleman, afterwards 
becoming a ferious Chriftian, was concerned for the countryman 9 . 
left his faith in the ChrHHan religion fhould have been fhaken. 
One day he took the liberty to n{k him, Whether what had fo fre- 
quently been advanced in his hearing, had not produced this effeel: 
upon him ? By no means, anfwered the countryman, it never 
made the leaf! imprefGon upon me. No impreffion upon you, faid 
the gentleman ! Why, you muft know that we had read and thought 
on thefe things much more than you had any opportunity of doing. 
O yes, faid the other; but I knew alfo your manner of living: I 
knew that to maintain fuch a courfe of conduct, you fouad it nccf- 
fary to renounce Chriftianity, 



£6 ConduB of Believers and Unbelievers. [Part t* 



it that fo much is made of the falls of Noah, Lot, 
David, Jonah, Peter, and others ? The fame things 
in heathen philofophers, or modern unbelievers, would 
be pafTed over without notice. All the declamations 
of our adverfaries on thefe fubjects plainly prove that 
fuch inflances with us are more fingular than with them. 
With us they are occaflonal, and afford matter for 
deep repentance \ and with them they are habitual, 
and furruih employment in the work of palliation. 
The fpots on the garment of a child attract attention \ 
but the filthv condition of the animal that wallows in 
the mire is difregarded, as being a thing of courfe. 

The morality, fuch as it is, which is found among 
deifts, amounts to nothing more than a little exterior 
decorum. The criminality of intention is exprefsly 
difowned.* The great body of thefe writers pretend 
to no higher motives than a regard to their fafety, in- 
tereft, or reputation. Actions proceeding from thefe 
principles muft not only be deftitute of virtue, but 
wretchedly defective as to their influence on the well- 
being of fociety. If the heart be towards God, a fo- 
ber, righteous, and godly life, becomes a matter of 
choice : but that which is performed, not for its own 
fake, but from fear, intereft or ambition, will extend 
no farther than the eye of man can follow it. In do- 
meftic life it will be but little regarded \ and in retire- 
ment not at all. Such in fa£l is the character of in- 
fidels. " "Will you dare to affert," fays Linguet, a 
French writer, in an addrefs to Voltaire, « that it is 
" in philofophic families we are to look for models of 
" filial refpect, conjugal love, fmcerity in friendfhip, 
i( or fidelity among domeftics ? Were you difpofed to 
" do fo, would not your own conscience, your own 
" experience, fupprefs the falfehood* even before your 
«* lips could utter it ?"f 

* Volney's Law of Nature, p. 18. 

f Linguet was an admirer of Voltaire ; but difapproved of hi* 
•ppofition to Chriftianity. See his Review of that author's works* 
page 264- 



Chap. V.] Cotulutl of Believers and Unbelievers. 6f 



" Wherever fociety is eftablifbed, there it is necefia- 
« ry to have religion ; for religion, which watches 
« over the crimes that are fecret, is, in fa£t, the only 
« law which a man carries about with him j the only 
« one which places the punifhment at the fide of the 
« guilt ; and which operates as forcibly in foiitude and 
" darknefs, as in the broad and open face of day." 
Would the reader have thought it ? Thefe are the 
words of Voltaire.* 

Nothing is more common than for deiftical writers 
to level their artillery againfl the Chr'ijlian minijlry. 
Under the appellation of priejls y they Teem to think 
themfelves at liberty to load them with every fpecies 
of abufe. That there are great numbers of worldly 
men who have engaged in the Chriftian miniftry, as 
other worldly men engage in other employments, for 
the fake of profit, is true ; and where this is the cafe, 
it may be expected that hunting, gaming, and fuch 
kind of amuiements, will be their favourite purfuits, 
while religious exercifes will be performed as a piece 
of neceffary drudgery. Where this is the cafe, " their 
** devotion muft be feigned, and their ferioufnefs mere 
" hypocrify and grimace." But that this mould be 
reprefented as a general cafe, and that the miniftry it- 
felf mould be reproached on account of the hypocrify 
of worldly men who intrude themfelves into it, can 
only be owing to malignity. Let the fulleft fubtrac- 
tion be made of characters of the above defcription, 
and I appeal to impartial obfervation, whether there 
will not {till remain, in only this particular order of 
Chriftians, and at almoft any period, a greater number 
of ferious, upright, dihnterefted, and benevolent per- 
fons, than could be found amongfl: the whole body of 
deifts in a fuceeffion of centuries. 

It is worthy of notice that Mr. Hume, in attempting 
to plunge Chriftian minifters into the mire of reproach, 
is obliged to defcend himfelf, and to drag all mankind 
with him into the fame fnuation. He repfefents min- 

* la Sullivan's Survey of N.tfure. 



4$$ ConduB of Believers and Unbelievers. [Part L 



ifters M as drawn from the common mafs of mankind, 
« as people are to other employments by the views of 
« profit and fuggefts that, " therefore, they are 
« obliged on many occafions, to feign more devotion 
" than they poffefs," which is friendly to hypocrify * 
The leading motive of all public officers, it Teems, is 
to aggrandize themfelves. If Mr. Hume had accept- 
ed of a ftation under government, we can be at no 
lofs, therefore, in judging what would have been his 
predominant principle. How weak, as well as wick- 
ed, mufl that man have been, who, in order to wound 
the reputation of one defcription of men, could point 
his arrows againft the integrity of all ! But the world 
muft forgive him. He had no ill defign againft them, 
any more than againft himfelf. It was for the pur- 
pole of deftrcying thefe Philiftines, that he has aimed 
to demolilh the temple of human virtue. 

Nor is his antipathy, or that of his brethren, at all 
to be wondered at : thefe are the men who, in every 
age, have expofed the fophiftry of deifts, and vindicated 
Chriftianity from their malicious afperfions. It is rea- 
fonable to fuppofe, therefore, that they wili always be 
ccnfidered as their natural enemies. It is no more a 
matter of furprife that they fhould be the objects of 
their inve£Uve, than that the weapons of nightly de- 
predators fhould be pointed againft the watchmen, 
whole bufinefs it is to detecl: them, and expofe their 
nefarious practices. 

A. tcr all, Mr. Hume pretends to refpecl: " Clergy- 
c: men who are fet apart by the laws to the care of 
a facred matters and wifhes to be undeiftood as 
directing his cenfures only againft prie/ls, or thofe who 
pretend to power and dominion, and to a fuperior 
fancHty of character, difcincl; from virtue and good 
morals.f It fhould feem, then, that they are diffenting 
minifters only that incur Mr. Hume's difpleafure ; 
but if, as he reprefents them, they be " drawn to their 

* Effay on National Characters, Note, 
f Efiays Mor. and Pobt- Ef. XII. p. 1x57, 108, Note, 



Chap. V.] Condutl of Believers and Unbelievers. 69 



< f employment by the views of profit," they certainly 
cannot poffefs the common underftanding of men, 
fince they could fcarcely purfue an occupation lefs 
likely to accomplish their defign. The truth is, Mr. 
Hume did not mean to cenfure diflenting minifters 
only ; nor did he feel any refpect to clergymen fet 
apart by the laws. Thofe whom he meant to fpare 
were fuch clergymen as were men after his ov/n heart 5 
and the objects of his difiike were truly evangelical 
minifters, whether churchmen or diffenters, who were 
not fatisried with his kind of morality, but were men 
of holy lives, and confequently were refpected by the 
people. Thefe are the men againft whom the enmity 
of deifts has ever been directed. As to other priefts, 
they have no other difference with them than that of 
rivallhip, wishing to poffefs their wealth and influence, 
which the others are not always the mo ft willing to 
relinquish. In profe fling, however, to " refpect" fuch 
clergymen, Mr. Hume only means to flatter them, and 
draw them on to a little nearer alliance with his views. 
Refpecl: is excited only by confiftency of character, 
and is frequently involuntary. A clergyman of loofe 
morals may be preferred, and his company courted, 
but refpecl ed he cannot be. 

As to thofe minifters againft whom Mr. Hume lev- 
els his artillery, and againft whom the real enmity of 
his party has always been directed, there is not a body 
of men in the world, of equal talents and induftry, 
who receive lefs, if fo little, for their labours. If thofe 
who have fo liberally accufed them of interefted mo- 
tives gained no more by their exertions than the ac- 
cufed, they would not be fo wealthy as many of them 
are. 

Compare the conduct of the leading men among 
deifts with that of the body of ferious Chriftian di- 
vines. Amid ft their declamations againft prieftly by- 
pocrify, are they honeft men ? Where is their ingen- 
uoufnefs in continually confounding Chriftianity and 
Popery ? Have thefe workers of iniquity no knowl- 
edge ? < No/ fay fome, * they do not underftand the 



7 9 CcnduB of Believers and Unbelievers. [Part I. 



c difference between genuine and corrupted Chriftian- 
tf ity. They have never had opportunity of viewing 
* the religion of Jefus in its native drefs. It is popifh 
c fuperftition againft which their efforts are directed. 
< If they underftood Chriftianity they would embrace 
« it.' Indeed ? And was this the cafe with Shaftef- 
bury, Bolingbroke, Hume, or Gibbon ? or is this the 
cafe with Paine ? No, they have both feen and hated 
the light ; nor will they come to it, left their deeds 
fnould be made manifeft. 

It may be thought, however, that fome excufe may 
be made for infidels refiding in a popifh country ; and 
this I mall not difpute, as it refpecls the ignorant pop- 
ulace, who may be carried away by their leaders : but 
as it refpecls the leaders themfelves, it is otherwife. 
The National Affembly of France, when they wifhed 
to counteract the priefts, and to reject the adoption of 
the Roman Catholic faith as the eftablifhed religion, 
could clearly diftinguifh between genuine and cor- 
rupted Chriftianity.* Deifts can diftinguifh between 
Chriftianity and its abufes, when an end is to be an- 
fwered by it ; and when an end is to be anfwered by 
it, they can, with equal facility, confound them. 

" Herbert, Hobbes, Shaftefbury, Woolfton, Tindal, 
t< Chubb, and Bolingbroke are all guilty of the vile 
*' hypocrify of profeffmg to love and reverence Chrif- 
(t tianity, while they are employed in no other defign 
" than to deftroy it. Such faithlefs profeflions, fuch 
U grofs violations of truth, in Chriftians, would have 
M been proclaimed to the univerfe by thefe very writers 
« as infamous defertions of principle and decency. Is 
" it lefs infamous in themfelves ? All hypocrify is de- 
€( teftable ; but I know of none fo deteftable as that 
< ( which is coolly written, with full premeditation, by 
" a man of talents, affuming the character of a moral 
« and religious inftrudor. Truth is a virtue perfectly 
" defined, mathematically clear, and -completely un- 
*' derftood by all men of common fenfe. There can 

* Mirabeau's Speeches, Vol. II. p. 269—374, 



f a 

Chap. V.] CotiduB of Believers and Unbelievers. ji 

" be no haltings between uttering truth and falfehood 5 
« no doubt, no miftakes, as between piety and enthu- 
" fiafm, frugality and pai fimony, generofity and pro- 
u fufion. Tranfgreffiofi therefore is always a known, 
" definite, deliberate villany. In the fudden moment 
* of ftrong temptation, in the hour of unguarded at- 
" tack, in the flutter and trepidation of unexpected 
" alarm, the belt man may, perhaps, be furprifed into 
" any fin : but he who can coolly, of fteady defign, and 
" with no unufual impuife, utter falfehood, and vend 
u hypocrify, is not far from finifhed depravity." 

u The morals 01 Rochefter and Wharton need no 
'* comment. WooHton was a grofs blafphemer. 
w Blount folicited his fifter-in-law to marry him, and 
u being refu fed, fhot himfelf. Tindal was originally 
" a proteftant, then turned papift, then proteftant 
•* again, merely to fuit the times •, and was at the 
" fame time infamous for vice in general, and the 
*< total want of principle. He is faid to have died 
u with this prayer in his mouth, * If there be a God, 
u I defire that he may have mercy on me.' Hobbes 
$< wrote his Leviathan to ferve the caufe of Charles I. 
, " but finding him fail of fuccefs, he turned it to- 
" the defence of Cromwell, and made a merit of this 
u fact to the ufurper ; as Hobbes himfelf unbluftiing- 
s< ly declared to Lord Clarendon. - Morgan had no 
« c regard to truth, as is evident from his numerous 
" fabrications of Scripture, as well as from the vile 
" hypocrify of profelling himfelf a Chriftian in thofe 
" very writings in which he labours to deftroy Chrif- 
tianity. Voltaire in a letter now remaining, re- 
(< queried his friend D'Alembert to tell for him a di- 
" reel: and palpabie lie, by denying that he was the 
** author of the Philosophical Dictionary. D'Alem- 
w bert, in his anfwer, informed him that he had told 
t( the lie. Voltaire has indeed expreffed his own moral 
" character perfectly m the following words : « Mon- 
" fieur Abbe, I muft be read, no matter whether I am 
" believed or not.' He alfo iolemnly profefled to be- 
« ( lieve the Catholic religion, although, at the fame 



72 ConduB cf Believers and Unbelievers, [Part I. 



« time, he doubted the exiftence of a God. Hume 
« died as a fool dieth. The day before his death he 
« fpent in a pitiful and affected unconcern about this 
U tremendous fubjecl, playing at whift, reading Lu- 
ff cian's Dialogues, and making filly attempts- at wit, 
" concerning his interview with Charon the heathen 
ferry-man of Hades."* 

Co'ilins, though he had no belief in Chriftianity. yet 
qualified himfelf for civil ofEce by partaking of the 
Lord's^tipper. Shaftefburydid the fame ' 9 and the fame 
is done by hundreds of infidels to this day. Yet thefe 
are the men who are continually declaiming againft 
the hypocrify of priefts ! Godwin is not only a lewd 
character, by his own confeffion, but the unblufhing ad- 
vocate of lewdnefs. And as to Paine, he is well known 
to have been a profane fwearer, and a drunkard. "We 
have evidence upon oath that " Religion was his favour- 
" ite topic when intoxicated ;"f and from the fcurrility 
of the performance, it is not improbable that he was fre- 
quently in this fituation while writing his Age of Reafon* 

I (hall conclude this catalogue of worthies, with a 
brief abftracl: of the Confeffions of J. J. Roufleau. 
After a good education, in the Proteftant religion, he 
was put apprentice. Finding his fituation difagreeable 
to him, he felt a ftrong propenfity to vice ; inclining 
him to covet, diffemble, lie, and at length to fteal \ 
a propenfity of which he was never able afterwards to 
diveft himfeif. " I have been a rogue," fays he* 
<( and am fo dill fometimes, for trifles which I had 
" rather take than afk for."| 

He abjured the Proteftant religion, and entered the 
hofpital of the Catechumens at Turing to be inftrucled 
in that of the Catholics *, " for which in return," fays- 
he, " I was to receive fubfiftence. From this intereft- 
M ed converfion," he adds, " nothing remained but the 

* The two lafr paragraphs are taken from Dr. Dwight's excellent 

Difcourfcson The Nature and Danger of Infidel I'hUofcp6y,p. 45 — 47* 

f See Trial of T. Paine, at Guildhall for a libel, &c. p. 43. 
| Co-ifcfton-s London Ed. 1796, Vol, I. p. 52, 5J } 6$. 



Chap. V.] Condutt of Believers and Unbelievers. 73 



"remembrance of my having been both a dupe and 
" an apoftate."* 

After this he refided with a Madame de Warrens, 
with whom " he iived in the greatelt poffible familiar- 
" fry." This lady often fuggefted that there would 
be no juft'tce in the Supreme Being, fhould he be 
ftriclly jufl: to us; becaufe, not having bellowed what 
was necefiary to render us effentiaily good, it would 
be requiring more than he had given. She was nev- 
erthelefs a very good Catholic, or pretended at lealt 
to be one, and certainly defired to be fuch. If there 
had been no Chriftian morality eftablifhed, Rouffeau 
fuppofes {he would have lived as though regulated by 
its principles. All her morality, however, was fubor- 
dinate to the principles cf M. Tavel, (who flrft feduc- 
ed her from conjugal fidelity by urging, in effect, that 
txpofure was the only crime) or rather fhe faw nothing 
in religion that contradicted them. Roufleau was far 
enough from being of this opinion : yet he confefled 
he dared not combat the arguments of the lady ; nor 
is it fuppofable he could, as he appears to have been 
acting on the fame principles at the time. €< Finding 
« in her," he adds, " all thofe ideas I had occajion for 
« to fecure me from the fears of death, and its future 
" confequences, I drew confidence and fecurity from 
" this fource."f 

The writings of Port Royal, and thofe of the Ora- 
tory, made him half a Janfenift ; and notwithstanding 
all his confidence, their harfh theory fome^times alarm- 
ed him. A dread of hell, which till then he had never 
much apprehended, by little and little difturbed his fe- 
curity, and had not Madame de Warrens tranquilized 
his foul, would at length have been too much for him, 
His confeflbr alfo, a Jefuit, contributed all in his 
power to keep up his hopes.J 

After this he became familiar with another female, 
Therefa. He began by declaring to her that he would 

* Confeffions, Vol. I. p. 125, 126. 

Vol. II. p. 88, 89, 103—106. \ Vol. II, p. 137, 

G % 



Con duel of Believers and Unbelievers, [Part I. 



never either abandon or marry her. Finding her preg- 
nant with her firft child, 2nd hearing it obferved in an- 
eating-houfe that he who had bejl filled the foundling hof- 
piial was always the mcjl applauded, " I faid to myfelf, 
*< quoth he, fince it is the cuftom of the country, they 
" who live here may adopt it. I cheerfully determin-. 
ts ed upon it without the leaft fcruple and the only 
" one I had to overcome was that of Therefa ; whom 
" with the greatefl imaginable difficulty, I perfuaded 
<< to comply." The year following, a fimilar incon- 
venience was remedied by the fame expedient : no ; 
more reflection on his part, nor approbation on that 
of the mother. " She obliged with trembling. My 
•* fault," fays he, " wa-s great ; but it was an error."* 

He refolved on fettling at Geneva j and on going 
thither, and being mortified at his exclufion from the 
rights of a citizen by the profeflion of a religion dif- 
ferent from his forefathers, he determined openly to 
return to the latter, "I thought," fays he, "the gof-u 
" pel being the fame for every Ohriftian,. and the only 
" difference in religious opinions the refult of the ex-. 
« planations given by men to that which they did not 
« underftand, it was the exclufive right of the fove-. 
" reign power in every country to fix the mode of 
«< worfbip, and thefe unintelligible opinions ; and that 
« confequently it was the duty of a citizen to admit- 
m the one, and conform to the other, in the manner 

prescribed by the law." Accordingly at Geneva he- 
renounced, popery.f 

After paffing twenty years with Therefa, he made- 
her his wife. He appears to have intrigued with a. 

Madame de H . Of his defires after that lady, 

he fays, " Guilty without remorfe, I foon became fo 
« without meafure."£ 

Such, according to his own account, was the life o£ 
uprighrnefs and honour which was to expiate for a 
theft which he had committed when a young man^. 



* Confeflions, Part II. Vol. I; p. 123, 154, 155, 183, 187, 315. 
t Pa?t II, Vol, I. p. #3, 364. I Part II, Vol, I. p. 311, 378. 



CHAP. VI.] BffeBs of ChrifTianity, &c. 75 

and laid it to a female fervant, by which {lie loft her 
place and character.* Such was Roufleau, the man 
whom the rulers of the French nation have delighted 
to honour ; and who* for writing this account, had the 
vanity and prefumption to expect the applaufe of his 
Creator.. " Whenever the laft trumpet (hall found," 
faith he, " I will prefent myfelf before the fovereign 
" Judge, with this book in my hand, and loudly pro- 
" claim, Thus have I acted — thefe were my thoughts 
t< — fuch was L Power Eternal ! afTemble round thy 
" throne the innumerable throng of my fellow-mor- 
" tals. Let them liften to my confeflions ; let them 
" blufh at my depravity ; let them tremble at my fuf- 
« ferings ; let each in his turn expofe, with equal fin-- 
U cerity, the failings, the wanderings of his heart 
« and, if he dare., aver, I was better than that 
« MAN \"\ 



CHAP. VL 

Chri/lianity has not only produced good effecls in thofe who, 
cordially believe it, but has given to the morals of focieiy, 
at large, a tone, which Deifm, fo far as it operates., goes-: 
to counter aft.. 

No man walks through life without a rule of fome 
kind, by which his conduct is directed, and his incli- 
nations reftrained. They who fear not God are in- 
fluenced by a regard to the opinions of men. To 
avoid the cenfure, and gain the applaufe of. the pub- 
lic, is the fummit of their ambition. 

Public opinion has an influence not only on the con- 
duct of individuals in a community, but on the form- 
ation of its laws., Legiflators- will not only conform 
their fyftems to what the humours of the people will 



5 Cpufcffions, Vol, I. p, ijj, i6o, f Vol. I. p, z, 



EffeBs cf Chriftianity 



[PartL 



bear, but will themfelves incline to omit thofe virtues 
•which are the mod ungrateful, and to fpare thofe vices 
■which are moft agreeable. 

Nor is this all : So great is the influence of public 
opinion, that it will direct the conduct of a commu- 
nity againft its own laws. There are obfolete feat- 
ures, as we all know, the breach of which cannot be 
puniihed : and even ftatutes which are not obfolete, 
where they operate againft this principle, have but 
little effect ; witnefs the connivance at the atrocious 
practice of duelling. 

Now if public opinion be fo potent a principle, 
whatever has a prevailing influence in forming it, muft 
give a decided cone to what are confidered as the mor- 
als of a nation. I fay to what are confidered 'as the mor- 
als of a nation : for, ftrictly fpeaking, fo much of the 
love of God and man, as prevails in a nation, fo much 
morality is there in it, and no more. But as we can 
judge cf love only by its expreflions, we call thofe ac- 
tions moral, though it is pofBble, their morality may- 
be only counterfeit, by which the love of God and 
man is ordinarily exprefled. If we perform thofe ac- 
tions which are the ordinary expreflions of love, from 
fome other motive, our good deeds are thereby render- 
ed evil in the fight of him who views things as they 
are : nevertheless what we do, may be equally bene- 
ficial to fociety as though we acted from the pureft 
motive. In this indirect way, Chriftianity has operat- 
ed more than any thing that has been called by the 
name of religion, or by any other name, towards meli- 
orating the Mate of mankind. 

It has been obferved, arM with great propriety, that 
in order to know what religion has done for an indi- 
vidual, we muft confider what he would have been- 
without it. The fame may be faid of a nation, or of 
the world. What would the nations of Europe have 
been at this time, if it had not been for the introduc- 
tion of Chriftianity ? It cannot reasonably be pretend- 
ed that they would have been in any better fituation,, 
as to morality, than that which they were in previous 



Chap. VI.] On the State of Society. 



77 



to this event ; for there is no inftance of any people 
having by their own efforts emerged from idolatry, 
and the immoralities which attend it. Now as to 
what that ftate was, fome notice has been taken al- 
ready, fo far as relates to the principles and lives of 
the old philofophers. To this I fhall add a brief re- 
view of the ftate of fociety among ft them. 

Great praifes are beftowed by Plutarch on the cuf- 
toms and manners of the Lacedemonians. Yet the 
fame writer acknowledges that theft was encouraged 
in their children by a law > and that to " fharpen their 
w wits, to render them crafty and fubtle, and to train 
" them up in all forts of wiles and cunning, watchful- 
" nefs, and circumfpection, whereby they were more 
M apt to ferve them in their wars, which was upon the 
S( matter the whole profeflion of this Commonwealth. 
« And if at any time they were taken in the act of 
t< ftealing, they were mod certainly punifhed with 
i{ rods, and the penance of fafting ; not becaufe they 
« efteemed the ftealth criminal, but becaufe they want- 
« c ed fkill and cunning in the management and conduct 
« of it."* Hence, as might he expected, and as He- 
rodotus obferves, their actions were generally contrary 
to their words ; and there was no dependence upon 
them in any matter. 

As to their chajlity> there were common baths in 
which the men and women bathed together ; and 
it was ordered that the young maidens mould ap- 
pear naked in the public exercifes, as well as the 
young men, and that they ftiould dance naked with 
them at the folemn feftivals and facriflces. Hufbands 
alfo were allowed to impart the ufe of their wives to. 
handfome and deferving men, in order to the produc- 
ing of healthy and vigorous children for the Common- 
wealth. 

Children which were deformed, or of a bad confti- 
tution were murdered. This inhuman cuftom was 
common all over Greece j fo much fo that it was 

* Plutarch's Morals, Vol, I. p. 



7 S EfeBs of ChriJFtamty [Part L 

reckoned a lingular thing among the Thebans, that the 
law forbade anyTheban to expofe his infant, under pain 
of death. This practice, with that of procuring abor- 
tion, were encouraged by Plato and Ariftotle. 

The unnatural love of boys was- fo common in Greece,, 
that in many places it was* fanclioned by the public 
laws, of which Arillotle gives the reafon, viz. to pre- 
vent their having too many children. Maximus Tyri- 
us, cekbrates it as a molt lingular heroic act of Agefi- 
laus, that being in love with a beautiful barbarian boy, 
he furTered it to go no farther than looking at him, and 
admiring him. Epi&etus alfo praifes Socrates in this 
manner : " Go to Socrates, and lee him lying by Alci- 
«« biades, yet flighting his youth and beauty. Confider 
" what a victory he was confcious of obtaining ! What 
* s an Olympic prize ! So that, by heaven, one might 
" juftly falute him, Hail incredibly great, univerfal 
" victor \ n "What an implication does fuch language 
contain of the manners of thofe times ! 

The Romans were allowed by Romulus to deftroy 
all their female children, except the eldeft ; and even 
with regard to their, male children, if they were de- 
formed, or monftrous, he permitted the parents to ex- 
pofe them, after having (hewn them to five of their 
neareft neighbours. Such things were in common 
ufe amongit them, and were celebrated upon their 
theatres. 

Such was their cruelty to their flaves, that it was not 
unufual for the mafters to put fuch of them as were 
old, Hck, and infirm, into an iflandinthe Tiber, where 
they left them to penlh. So far did fome of them 
carry their luxury and wantonnefs, as to drown them 
in the fiih-ponds, that they might be devoured by the 
£lh, to make the flefli more delicate ! 

Gladiatory Jhoivs were common amongft them ; in 
which a number of flaves were engaged to fight for 
the diverfion of the multitude, till each one flew, or 
was flain by, his antagonilL Of thefe brutifh exercifes 
the people were extremely fond ; even the women 
ran eagerly after them, taking pkafure in feeing the 



CHAP. VI.] On the State of Society, 



79 



combatants kill one another, defirous only that they 
fhould fall genteelly, or in an agreeable attitude ! 
They were exhibited at the funerals of great and rich 
men, and on many other occafions : fo frequent did 
they become, that no war, it is faid, caufed fuch 
flaughter of mankind as did thefe fports of pleafure, 
throughout the feveral provinces of the Roman em- 
pire. 

That odious and unnatural vice, which prevailed 
among the Greeks, was alfo common "amongft the 
Romans. Cicero introduces, without any mark of 
difapprobation, Cotta, a man of the firft rank and ge- 
nius, freely and familiarly owning to other Romans 
of the fame quality, that worfe than beaftly vice as 
pra&ifed by himfelf, and quoting the authorities of 
ancient philofophers in vindication of it. It appears 
alfo from Seneca, that in his time it was praclifed at 
Rome openly and without fhame. He fpeaks of flocks 
and troops of boys, diftinguifhed by their colours and 
nations, and that great care was taken to train them up 
for that deteftable employment. 

The religious rites performed in honour of Venus 
in Cyprus, and at Aphac on Mount Libanus, confifted 
in lewdnefs of the grofTeft kinds. The young people 
of both fexes crowded from all parts to thofe finks of 
pollution, and filling the groves and temples with their 
ihamelefs practices, committed whoredom by thou- 
fands, out of pure devotion. 

All the Babylonian women were obliged to profti- 
tute themfelves once in their lives, at the temple of 
Venus or Mylitta, to the firft man that afked them j 
and the money earned by this means was always ef- 
teemed facred. 

Human facrifices were oifered up in almoft all hea- 
then countries. Children, were burnt alive, by their 
own parents, to Baal, Moloch, and other deities. The 
Carthaginians, in times of public calamity, not only 
burnt alive the children of the beft families, to Saturn, 
and that by hundreds, but fometimes facrificed them- 
felves in the fame manner in great numbers. Here 



§0 EffeBs of Chrjftianity [Part L 



in Britain, and in Gaul, it was a common practice to 
furround a man with a kind of wicker-work, and burn 
him to death, in honour of their gods.* 

In addition to the above, Mr. Hume has written as 
follows : " What cruel tyrants were the Romans over 

the world during the time of their Commonwealth ! 
« — It is true they had laws, to prevent oppreffion in 
" their provincial magiftrates j but Cicero informs us, 
" that the Romans could not better confultthe intereft 
<* of the provinces than by repealing thefe very laws. 
« For in that cafe," fays he, " our magiftrates having 
•* entire impunity, would plunder no more than would 
< s fatisfy their own rapacioufnefs ; whereas at prefent 
< ( they muft alfo fatisfy that of their judges, and of all 
" the great men of Rome, of whofe protection they 
" ftand in need." 

The fame writer, who certainly was not prejudiced 
againft them, fpeaking of their Commonwealth, in its 
more early times, farther obferves, " The molt illuftri- 
" ous period of the Roman hiftory, conlidered in a 
" political view, is that between the beginning of the 
« firft, and end of the laft Punic war ; yet at this very 
" time the horrid practice of poifcmng was fo common, 
" that during part of a feafon, a praetor punifhed cap- 
" itally for this crime above three thoufatid perfons, in 
" a part of Italy ; and found informations of this na- 
w ture (till multiplying upon him ! So depraved in pri- 
" vate life," adds Mr. Hume, " were that people, whom 
« in their hiftory we fo much admire."-)- 

From the foregoing facts we may form fome judg- 
ment of the juftice of Mr. Paine's remarks. " We 
" know nothing," fays he, " of what the ancient Gen- 
M tile world was before the time of the Jews, whofe 
" practice has been to calumniate and blacken the 

* The authorities on which this brief ftatement of fa&s is found- 
ed may be feen in Dr. Leland's Advantages and Neceffity of the 
Chriflian Revelation, Vol. II, Part II. Chap. III. IV. where the fub- 
ject is more particularly handled. See alfo Deifm Revealed, Vol, 
I. p. 77) 78. 

f Effay on Politics a Science. 



Chap. VI.] On the State of Society. 



« character of all other nations. As far as we know 
* J to the contrary, they were a juft and moral people, 
" and not addidled, like the Jews, to cruelty and re- 

venge, but of wfiofe profemon of faith we are un- 
« acquainted. It appears to have been their cuflom 
€< to perfonify both virtue and vice by ftatues and im- 
« ages, as is done now-a-days by Ratuary and paint- 
N ing : but it does not follow from this, that they wor- 
N {hipped them any more than we do."* 

Unlefs heathens, before the time of the JewS, 
were totally different from what they Were in all after 
ages, there can be no reafonable doubt of their 
worfhipping a plurality of deities, of which im- 
ages were fuppofed to be the reprefentations. Mr. 
Paine himfelf allows, and that hi the fame perform- 
ance, that prior to the Chriftian era, they were, "I* 
" dolators, and had twenty or- thirty thoufand gods."f 
Yet, by his manner of fpeakirig in this place, he mani* 
feflly wiihes to infinuate, in behalf of all the heathen 
nations, that they might worfhip idols no more than 
we do. It might be worth while for this writer, me- 
thinks, to bellow a little more attention to the improve* 
ment of his memory. 

With refpecl: to their being " juft and moral people," 
unlefs they were extremely different, before the time of 
the Jews, from what they were in all after agesj there 
'can be no reafonable doubt of their being what the 
facred writers have reprefented them. If thofe writers 
have faid nothing worfe of them than has been faid by 
the mod early and authentic hiftorians from amongfl: 
themfelves, it will be eafy for an impartial reader to 
decide whether heathens have been " calumniated and 
« blackened" by the Jewilh writers, or the Jewifh wri- 
ters by Mr. Paine. 

But it is not by the {fate of the ancient heathens only 
that we difcover the importance of Chriftianity." A 
large part of the world is (fill in the fame condition ; 
and the fame immoralities abound amongfl them which 

* Age of Reafon, Part II. p. 39, 40. f Page 5. 

H 



Effects of Chriftianity 



[Part I. 



are reported to have abounded amongft the Greeks and 
Romans. 

I am aware that deiftical writers have laboured to 
hold up the modern as well as the ancient heathens in 
a very favourable light. In various anonymous publi- 
cations much is faid of their limplicity and virtue. 
One of them fuggefts, that the Chinefe are fo " fupe- 
" rior to Chriftians in relation to moral virtues, that 
" it may feem neceffary that they {hould fend miffion- 
" aries to teach us the ufe and practice of natural 
11 theology, as we fend miffionaries to them to teach 
lt them Revealed Religion."* Yea, and fome who 
wilh to rank as Chriftians, have, on this ground, ob- 
jected to all mifiionary undertakings among the hea- 
then. Let us examine this matter a little ciofely. 

Aimed all the accounts which are favourable to 
heathen virtue are either written by the adverfaries of 
Chriftianity, and with'; a defign to difparage it-, or by 
navigators, and travellers, who have touched at partic- 
ular places, and made their reports according to the 
treatment they have met with, rather than from a re- 
gard to univerfal righteoufnefs. An authentic report 
of the morals of a people requires to be given, not from 
a tranfient vifit, but from a continued refidence amongft 
them ; not from their occafional treatment of a ft ran- 
ger, but from their general character ; and not from 
having an end to anfwer, but with a rigid regard to 
truth. 

It is worthy of notice, that the far greater part of 
thefe reprefentations refpect people with whom we 
have little or no acquaintance ; and therefore are lefs 
liable to contradiction, whatever the truth may be. 
As to China, Hindoftan, and fome ether parts of the 
world, with whofe moral ftate we have had the means 
of acquiring fome confiderable degree of knowledge, 
the praifes beftowed en them by our adverfaries have 
proved to be unfounded. From the accounts of thofe 
who have refided in China, there does not feem to be 

* CkriAianity as old as the Creation, p. 366, 367, 



Chap. VI.] On the State of Society. 



83 



much reafon to boaft of their virtue. On the contrary, 
their morals appear to be full as bad as thofe of the 
ancient heathens. It is allowed they take great care 
of their outward behaviour, more than, perhaps, is 
taken in any other part of the world befides ; that 
whatever they do or fay is fo contrived that it may 
have a good appearance, pleafe all, and offend none •? 
and that they may excel in outward modefty, gravity, 
good words, courtefy, and civility. But notwith {land- 
ing this, ic is faid that the fin againfl nature is extreme- 
ly common— that drunkennefs is confidered as no 
crime — that every one takes as many concubines as he 
can keep — that many of the common people pawn their 
wives in time of need ; and fome lend them for a 
mouth, or more, or lefs, according as they agree — that 
marriage is diflblved on the moft trifling occafions — 
that fons and daughters are fold whenever their parents 
pleafe, and that is frequently — that many of the rich 
as well as the poor, when they are delivered of daugh- 
ters, Itifle and kill them — that thofe who are more ten- 
der-hearted will leave them under a veiTel, where they 
expire in great mi&ry — and finally, that notwithftand- 
ing this, they all, except the learned, plead humanity 
and companion againft killing other living creatures, 
thinking it a cruel thing to take that life which they 
cannot give. Montefquien fays, " The Chinefe, whofe 
whole iife is governed by the eftablifhed rites, are 
H the mod void of common hone ft y of any people upon 
H earth ; and that the laws, though they do not allow 
" them to rob or to fpoil by violence, yet permit them 
u to cheat and defraud." With this agrees the ac- 
count given of them in Lord Anfon's Voyages, and by 
other navigators, that lying, cheating, dealing, and all 
the little arts of chicanery abound amongfb them 5 and 
that if you detect them in a fraud, they calmly plead 
the cujlom of the country;* Such are the people by whom 
we are to be taught the ufe and practice of natural 
theology ! 

* See Lelaud's Advantage and Neceffity of Revelation, Vol.- II* 
Bart II, Chap. IV, 



Pa 



Effe&s of Chrifianity 



[Part fc 



If credit could be given to what feme writers have 
advanced, we might luppofe the moral philofophy and 
virtuous conduct of the Hindoos to be worthy of being 
a pattern to the world. The rules by which they gov-, 
em their conduct are, as we have been told, " Not to 
" tell falfe tales, nor to utter any thing that is untrue > 
« not to Ileal any thing from others, be. it ever fo little *, 
" not to defraud any by their cunning in bargains, or 
" contracts ; not to opprefs any when they have powe?- 
" to do it."* 

Very oppofite accounts, however, are given by .nu* 
merous and refpectable witnefTes, and who do not ap- 
pear to have written under the influence of prejudice. 
I {hail felect but two or three. 

Francis Bernier, an intelligent French traveller,, 
fpeaking of the Hindoos, fays, " I know not whether 
" there be in the world a more covetous and fordid 
" nation. The Brahmins keep thefe people in their- 
" errors and fuperftitions, and fcruple not to commit tricks. 
" and vilianies fo infamous, that I could never have be<* 
« lieved them, if I had not made an ample inquiry into 
" them.'-'f 

Governor Holwell thus cb a ra£te rife s them : " A 
" race of people, who, from their infancy, are utter 
« Grangers to the idea of common faith and honefty. 

" This is the fit nation of the bulk of the people o£ 
" Indoftan, as well as of the modern Brahmins i 
i( amongfl the latter, if we except one in a thoufand^ 
«f we give them over meafure." 

ct The Gentoos in general are as degenerate, fuper- 
« ftitious, litigious, and wicked a people, as any race 
" of people in the known world, if not eminently more 
c< fo, efpecially the common run of Brahmins ; and 
f( we can truly aver, that during almoft five years that 
« we prefided in the Judicial Cutchery Court of Cal- 

cutta, never any murder, or other atrocious crime, 

* Harris's Voyages and Travels, Vol. I. Chap. II. § xi. xli. 

f Voyages de Francois Bernier, Tome I. p. 150, i6i, et Tom.O 

IL p. Ktf, 



Chap. VI.] On the State of Society. 8 y 

f* came before us, but it was proved in the end a 
" Brahmin was at the bottom of it." # 

Mr. afterwards Sir John Shore, and governor-gen- 
eral of Bengal, fpeakiflg of the fame people, fays, * c A: 
" man mufi be long acquainted with them before he 
" can believe them capable of that bare-faced falfe- 
" hood, fervile adulation, and deliberate deception, 
" whieh they daily pra&ife. It is the bufinefs of all, 
« from the Ryott to the Dewan, to conceal and de- 
«< ceive ; the fimpleft matters of fact are defignedjy 
" covered with a veil, through which no human un-- 
" derftanding can penetrate. "f 

In perfeel agreement with thefe accounts are others 
which are conltantly received from perfons of obfer- 
vation and probity, now refiding in India. Of thefe. 
the following are extracts : " Lying, theft, whoredom^ 
" and deceit, are fins for which the Hindoos are noto- 
" rious. There is not one man in a thoufand, who 
" does not make lying his conftant practice. Their 
" thoughts of God are fo very light, that they only 
" confider him as a fort of play-thing. Avarice and 
" fertility are fo united in almoft every individual, that 
& cheating, juggling,, find lying, are eiteemed no fins 
" with them ; and the heft among them, though they 
S( fpeak ever fo great a falfehood, yet it is not confid- 
M ered as an evil, unlefs you fir ft charge them to fpeak 
" the truth. When they defraud you ever fo much? 
f* and you charge them with it, they coolly anfwer, It 
w is the cujioni of the country. 

" In England the poor receive the benefit of the 
" gofpel in being fed and clothed by thofe who know 
" not by what principles they are moved. For when 
•* the gofpel is generally acknowledged in a land, it 
u puts fome to fear, and others to fname \ fo that to 
" relieve their own f mart they provide for the poor: 
* but here^.O miferable Itate ! I have found the path-- 

* Hoi well's Hiftorical Emits, Vol. I. p. zzS, and Vol. II. p, 151, 

f Parliamentary Proceedings againft Mr, Haftings, Appendix to 
To], II. p, oj,. 

H % 



86 



EffeEls of Chriftiamty 



[Part L 



« way flopped up by fick and wounded people, perifh-- 
« ing with hunger and that in a populous neighbour- 
« hood, where numbers pafs by, fome ilnging, others 
« talking, but none fhewrng msrcy ; as though they 
" were dying weeds, and not dying men."* 

Comparing thefe accounts, a reader might be apt to 
fuppofe that the people muft have greatly degenerated, 
iince their laws were framed ; but the truth is, the 
laws are nearly as corrupt as the people. Thofe who 
examine the Hindoo code,+ will find them fo ; and 
will perceive that there is fcarcely a fpecies of wicked- 
nefs which they do not tolerate, efpecially in favour 
of the Brammhans, of which order of men, it may be 
prefumed, were the firft framers of the conftitution. 

Let the reader judge frcm this example of the Hin-. 
doos, what degree o£ credit is due to antichriftian hif=. 
iorians, when they undertake to defcribe the virtues, 
of heathens. ' 

From this brief ftatement of facls it is not very dif- 
ficult to perceive femewhat of that which Ghriiiianity 
has accomplimed with regard to the general (late of 
feciety. It is by no means denied that the natural/ 
difpofitions of heathens as well as other men are vari-. 
ous. The Scriptures themfeives record inftances of, 
their amiable deportment towards their fellow-crea- 
tures.:]: Neither is it denied that there are characters, 
in chnftianized nations, and that in great numbers,, 
v/hofe wickednefs cannot be exceeded, nor equalled, 
by any who are deititute of their advantages. There 
is no doubt but that the general moral character of 
heathens is far left atrocious than that of deifts, who 
reject the light of Revelation, and of multitudes of 
nominal Christians who abufe it. The ftate of both, 
thefe defcriptions of men with refpedt to unenlighten- 
ed pagans, is as that of Chorazin and Bethfaida with, 
yefpect to Sodom and Gomorrha. 

* Periodical Accounts of the Baptift Million, No. II. p. 120, No. 
HI. p. 191, 230. No. IV. p. 291, 

f Tranflated from the Shaiifcritj and publiihed in 1773. 
I Gencus xiiii, 



Chap. VI.] On the State of Society 



*7 



But that for which I contend is the effect of Chris- 
tianity upon the general fate of fociety. It is an indis- 
putable fact that it has banilhed grofs idolatry from 
every nation in Europe. It is granted that where 
whole nations were concerned, this effect, might be at 
firft accomplished, not by perfuafidn, but by force of 
arms. In this manner many legiflators of former 
times thought they did God Service. But whatever 
were the means by which the worfhip of the one living 
and true God was at firft introduced, it is a fact that 
the principle is now fo fully eftablifhed in the minds 
and consciences of men, that there needs no force to 
prevent the return of the old Syftem of Polytheifm*. 
There needs no greater proof of this than has been 
afforded by unbelievers of a neighbouring nation, 
Such evidently has been their predilection for pagan 
manners, that, if the light that has gone abroad 
amongft mankind permitted it, they would at once 
have plunged into grcfs idolatry, as into their native 
element. But this is rendered moraljy impoiiible,. 
They muft be theifts, or atheifts ; pclytheiits they 
cannot be. 

By accounts which, from time to time, have been 
received, it appears that the prevailing party in France 
have not only laboured to eradicate every principle of 
Chriftianity, but, in one in fiance, actually made the 
experiment for reftoring feme.thi.fJg like the old idolatry. 
A refpeclable magiftrate of the United States,* in his 
Addrefs to the Grand Jury in Luzerne county, has. 
ftated a few of thefe facts to the public. 

" Infidelity," fays he, " having got pofleffioh of the 
" power of the ftate, every nerve was exerted to efface 
" from the mind all ideas of religion and morality.. 
« The doctrine of the immortality of the foul, or a 
** future ftate of rewards and punifhments, fo eflenttal 
" to the prefervation of order in fociety, and to the 
" prevention of crimes, was publickly ridiculed, and 
5 ' the people taught to believe that death was an ever* 
jf lafting Sleep. ' 

* Judge Ruft. 



3§ Efetis of Chr'tfiiamty [Fart L 



« They ordered the words < Temple of Reafoiv to 

P be infcribed on the churches, in contempt of the 
? doclrine of Revelation. Atheifiical and licentious 
U homilies have been publiihed in the churches in- 
« (lead of the old fervice, and a ludicrous imitation 
« of the Greek mythology exhibited under the title of 
« « The Religion of Reaion/ Nay, they have gene 
u fo far as to drefs up a common itrumpet with the 
" mod fantaitic decorations, whom they biafphemouily 
" ftyled < The Godd^fs of Realpn/ and who was car- 
« ried to church on the fhoulders of feme Jacobins^ 
M felected for the purpofe, efcorted by the national 
" guards and the conltituted authorities. When they 
" got to the church, the itrumpet was placed on the: 
« altar erected for. the purpoie, and harangued the 
" people, who, in return, proferTed the deepeit adora- 
" tion to her, and fung the Carmagnole and other.- 
" fongs, by way of wor&ipping her,. This horrid 
" fcene, almoii too horrid to relate, was concluded by 
" burning the prayer-book, confeffional, and every 
" thing appropriated to the ufe of public worfhip : 
M numbers in the mean time danced round the flames 
M with every appearance of frantic and infernal mirth." 

Thefe things fufEoientiy esprefs the inclinations of 
the parties concerned, and what kind of bieiTings the. 
woild is to expect from atheifticai philofophy $ but: 
all attempts of this kind are vain, The minds of men 
throughout Europe, if I may for once ufe a cant term 
of their own, are tco eniighier.i^. to Ik-op to the prac- 
tice of fuch fooleries, We have a gentleman in our 
own country who appears to he a fincere devotee ta 
the pagan worihip, and who, it ieems, would with to 
introduce it ; but as far as I can learn, all the fuccefs 
which he has met with, is to have obtained from the 
public the honourable appellation of the geni'ile p'ief}. 

Whatever we are, and whatever we may be, grof* 
idolatry, I prefume^ may be confidered as banifhed from 
Europe; and thanks be to God, a number of its at- 
tendant abominations, with various other immoral 
culloms of the heathen, are in a good meafuie baaiih* 



Chap. VI.] On the Staie of Society, Z$ 

ed with it. We have no human facrifices ; no gladi- 
atory combats ; no public indecencies between the 
fexes ; no law that requires proftitution ; no plurality 
or community of wives; no diffolving of marriages on 
trifling occafions » nor any legal murdering of children, 
or of the aged and infirm. If unnatural crimes be 
committed among ft us, they are not common ; much 
lefs are they tolerated by the laws, or countenanced 
by public opinion. On the contrary, the odium which 
follows fuch practices is fufficient to damp with per- 
petual infamy the firir character in the land. Rapes, 
Incefts, and adulteries, are not only punifhable by law, 
but odious in the eflimation of the public. It is with 
us, at lead in a considerable degree, as it was in Judea, 
where he that was guilty of fuch vices was confidered 
as a fool in Ifrael. The fame, in lefs degrees, may be 
faid of fornication, drunkennefs, lying, theft, fraud, 
and cruelty ; no one can live in the known practice of 
thefe vices, and retain hi-s character. It cannot be 
pleaded in excufe with us, as it is in China, Hindof- 
tan, and Otaheite, that such things Are the cus~ 

TOM OF THE COUNTRY. 

We freely acknowledge that if we turn our eyes 
upon the great evils which Hill exid, even in thofe 
nations where Chriftianity has had the greater!: influ- 
ence, we find abundant reafon for lamentation : but 
while we lament the evil, there is no reafon that we 
fliould overlook the good. Comparing our date with 
that of former times, we cannot >but with thankfulnefs 
acknowledge, What hath God wrought ! 

I can conceive of but one queftion that can have 
any tendency to weaken the argument arifmg from the 
foregoing facts, viz. Are they the effects of Chriftianity ? 
If they be not, and can he fairly accounted for on oth- 
er principles, the argument falls to the ground : but if 
they be, though Shaftefbury fatirize, Hume doubt, 
Voltaire laugh, Gibbon infinuate, and Paine pour forth 
fcurrility like a torrent, yet honed men will fay, An 
tvil tree bringeth not forth good fruit ; If this religion 
were wt of God, it could do nothing* 



Ejfe8s of Ckrifiiamty 



[PartL 



If there be any adequate caufe diftmct from Chrif- 
tianity to which thefe effects may be afcribed, it be- 
comes our adverfaries to ft ate it. Meanwhile, I may 
obferve, they are not afcribable to any thing befides 
Chriftianity that has borne the name of Religion. As 
to that of the ancient heathens, it had no manner cf 
relation to morality. The priefts, as Dr. Leland has 
proved, " made it not their bulinefs to teach men vir- 
" tue.' ; * 

It is the lame with modern heathens. Their religion 
has nothing of morality pertaining to it. They perform- 
a round cf fnperftitious obfervances, which produce 
no good effect whatever upon their lives. What they" 
were yefterday they are to-day ; no man repenteth. 
himfelf of his wickednefs, faying, What have I done f 
Nor is it materially different with Mahcmedans.- Their 
religion, though it includes the acknowledgment cf one 
living and true God, yet, rejecting the IVIefliah as the 
Son of God, and attaching them to a bloody and las- 
civious impoftor, produces no good effect upon their 
morals, but leaves them under the dominion of barbar- 
ity and voluptuoufneis. In {hort, there is no religion 
but that of Jefus Chrift that fo much as profeiTes to 
j^Iefs men by turning them from their iniquities. 
i Neither can thefe effects be attributed to philfcphy. 
A few great minds defpifed the idolatries of their I 
countrymen - 9 but they did not reform them : and no 
wonder ; for they praclifed what they themfelves de- 
fpifed. Nor did all their harangues in favour cf virtue- 
produce any fubftantial erTedt, either on themfelves or 
others. The heathen nations were never more enlight- 
ened as to philofophy, than at the time of our Saviour's 
appearance ; yet as to morality they never were more 
depraved. 

It is Chriftianity then, and nothing elfe,. which has- 
deftroyed the odious idolatry of many nations, and 
greatly contracted its attendant immoralities. It was 
in this way that the gofpei operated in the primitive. 



* Advantage and Necefiity of Revelation, Vol. II. p. a|. 



Chap. VI.] On tie State of Society. 



91 



ages, wherever it was received ; and it is in the fame 
way that it continues to operate to the prefent time. 
/ Real Chriftians mutt needs be adverfe to thefe things ; 
and they are the only men living who cordially fet 
themfelves againft them. 

This truth will receive additional evidence from an 
obfervation of the different degrees of morality produc- 
ed in different places, according to the degree of puri- 
ty with which the Chriftian religion has been taught, 
and liberty given it to operate. In feveral nations of 
Europe popery has long been eftablifhed, and fupport- 
ed by fanguinary laws. By thefe means the Bible has 
been kept from the common people, Chriftian doctrine 
and worfhip corrupted, and the confciences of men 
fubdued to a ufurper of Chrifl's authority. Chriftian- 
ity is there in prifon ; and an ti-chrift ianifm exalted in 
its place. In other nations this yoke is broken. Ev- 
ery true Chriftian has a Bible in his family, and meas- 
ures his religion by it. The rights of confcience alfo 
being refpecled, men are allowed to judge and act in 
religious matters for themfelves, and Chriftian churches 
are formed according to the primitive model. Chris- 
tianity is here at liberty ; here therefore it may be ex-, 
pedted to produce its greateft effects. Whether this 
does not correfpond with fact, let thofe who are accuf- 
tomed to obferve men and things with an impartial 
eye, determine. 

In Italy, France, and various other countries, where 
the Chriftian religion has been fo far corrupted as to 
lofe nearly all its influence, illicit connexions may be 
formed, adulterous intrigues purfued, and even crimes 
againft nature committed, with but little difhonour. 
Roufieau could here fend his illegitimate offspring to 
the Foundling Hofpital, and lay his accounts with be- 
ing applauded for it, as being the cujlom of the country. 
It is not fo in Britain, and various other nations, where 
the gofpel has had a freer courfe : for though the fame 
difpofitions are difcovered in great numbers of perfons, 
yet the fear of the public frown holds them in awe. 
If we except a few abandoned characters, who have 



92 



Effects of Chriftianity [Part t. 



nearly loft: all fenfe of fhame, and who by means eith- 
er cf their titles and fortunes on the one hand, or their 
well-known bafenefs on the other, have almoft bid de- 
fiance to the opinion of mankind, this cbfervation will 
hold good, I believe, as to the bulk of the inhabitants 
of proteftant countries. 

And it is worthy of notice, thai in thofe circles or 
connexions where Chriftianity has had the greateft 
influence, a fobriety of character is carried to a much 
higher degree than in any other. Where there is one 
divorce from amongft proteftant diffenters, and other 
ferious prcfefTbrs of Chriftianity, there are, I believe, 
a hundred from ampngfl thofe whofe practice it is to 
frequent the amufements of the theatre, and to neglect 
the worfhip of God. And in proportion to the An- 
gularity of fuch cafes, fuch is the furprife, indignation, 
and difgrace which accompany them Similar cbfer- 
vaticns might be made on public executions for rob- 
bery, forgery, tumults, affafhnations, murders, &c. It 
is nut amongft the circles prcfeffing a ferious regard 
to Chriftianity, but amongft its adverfaries, that thefe 
practices ordinarily prevail. *>_ 

Some have been inclined to attribute various differ- 
ences in thefe things to a difference in national charac- 
ter : but national character, as it refpecls morality, is 
formed very much from the ft ate of fociety in differ- 
ent nations. A number of painful observations would 
arife from a view of the conduct and character of Eng- 
lifhmen on foreign fhores. To fay nothing of the ra- 
pacities committed in the Eaft, Whither is ourboafted 
humanity fled when we land upon the coafts of Guin- 
ea ? The brutality with which millions our fellow- 
creatures have been torn from their connexions, bound 
in irons, thrown into a floating dungeon, fold in the 
public markets, beaten, maimed, and many of them 
murdered, for trivial offences, and all this without any 
effectual reftraint from the laws, muft load our na- 
tional character with everlafting infamy. The fame 
perfons, however, who can be guiltv of thefe crimes 
at a diftance ? are as apparently humane as other people 



Chap. VI.] On the State of Society. 



93 



when they re-enter their native country. And where- 
fore ? Becaufe in their native country the flare of fo- 
ciety is fuch as will not admit of a contrary behaviour. 
A man who fhould violate the principles of juftice 
and humanity here, would not only be expofed to the 
cenfure of the laws, but, fuppoiing he could evade this, 
his character would be loft. The ftate of fociety in 
Guinea impofes no fuch reftraints ; in that fituation, 
therefore, wicked men will indulge in wickednefs. 
Nor is it much otherwife in our Weft India iflands. 
So little is there of Chriftianity in thofe quarters, that 
it has hitherto had fcarcely any influence in the fram- 
ing of their laws, or the forming of the public opinion. 
There are, doubtlefs, juft and humane individuals in 
thofe iflands ; but the far greater part of them, it is 
I to be feared, are devotees to avarice ; to which, as to 
i a Moloch, one or other of them are continually offer- 
;| ing up human victims. 

Vicious practices are commonly more prevalent in 
large and populous cities than in other places. Hith- 
er the worft characters commonly refort, as noxious 
animals to a covert from their purfuers. In places 
but thinly inhabited, the conduct of individuals is con- 
fpicuous to the community : but here they can affem- 
ble with others of their own defcription, and ftrength- 
en each other's hands in -evil, without much fear of 
|. being detected. Chriftianity, therefore, may be fup- 
i pdfed to have lefs effect, in the way of reftraining im- 
i moral characters in the city, than in the country. Yet 
' even here it is fenflbly felt. The metropolis of our 
j own nation, though it abounds with almoft every fpe- 
I cies of vice, yet what reflecting citizen will deny that 
f\ it would be much worfe but for the influence of the 
* Igofpel? As it is, there are numbers of different re- 
! i ligious denominations, who conftantly attend to public 4 

and family worfhip ; who are as honourable in their 
■; j dealings as they are amiable in domeftic life •, and as 
ti liberal in their benefactions as they are affiduous to 
I; find out deferving cafes. The influence which this 



Effefis of Chrjftianity [Part L 



body of men have upon the citizens at large, in re- 
ftraining vice, promoting fchemes of benevolence, and 
preferving peace and good order in fociety, is beyond 
calculation. But for their examples and unremitted 
exertions, London would be a Sodom in its guilt, and 
might expect to refemble it in its punimment. 

In country towns and villages it is eafy to perceive 
the influence which a number of ferious Chriftians 
will have upon the manners of the people at large. 
A few families in which the Bible is daily read, the 
worfhip of God performed, and a Chriftian converfa- 
rion exemplified, will have a powerful effect. Wheth- 
er characters of an oppofite defcription regard their 
conduct, or not, their confciences favour it. Hence 
it is that one upright man, in a queftion of right and 
wrong, will often put to filence a company of the ad- 
vocates of unrighteoufnefs ; and that three or four 
Chriftian families have been known to give a turn to 
the manners of a whole neighbourhood. 

In fine, let it be ciofely confidered whether a great 
part of that fobriety which is to be found among deifts 
themjelves (as there are, doubtlefs, fober characters 
among deifts, and even among atheifts) be not owing 
to Chriftianity. It has often been remarked, and juft- 
ly too, that much of the knowledge which our adversa- 
ries pofTefs, is derived from this fource. To fay noth- 
ing of the beft ideas of the oM philofophers on moral 
fubjects being derived from Revelation, of which there 
is confiderable evidence, it is manifeft that fo far as 
the moderns exceed them, it is principally, if not en- 
tirely, owing to this medium of inftruftion. The 
Scriptures having diffufed the light, they have infenfi- 
bly imbibed it ; and finding it to accord with reafon, 
they flatter themfelves that their reafon has difcovered 
it. <c After grazing," as one exprefles it, " in the 
" paftures of Revelation, they boaft of having grown 
* fat by nature." And it is the fame with regard to 
their fobriety. So long as they refide among people 
whofe ideas of right and wrong are formed by the 
morality of the gofpel, they irnsft, unlefs they wifli to 



CHAP. VI.] On the State of Society. 9 J 

be ftigmatized as profligates, behave with fome degree 
of decorum. Where the conduct is uniform and con- 
fident, charity, I allow, and even juftice, will lead us 
to put the beft conftrutHon upon the motive •, but 
when we fee men uneafy under reftraints, and contin- 
ually writing in favour of vices which they dare not 
openly prarfife, we are jultified in imputing their fo- 
briety, not to principle, but to the circumftances at- 
tending their fituation. If fome of thofe gentlemen, 
who have deferted the Chriftian miniftry, and com- 
menced profeffed infidels, had acled years ago as licen- 
tioufly as they have done of late, they muft have quit- 
ted their fituation fooner ; and were they now to leave 
their country and connexions, and enter into fuch a 
ftate of fociety as would comport with their prefent 
wilhes, their conduct would be more licentious than 
it is* 

On thefe principles that great and excellent man, 
Prefident W ashington, in his farewel addrefs to the 
people of the United States, acknowledges the necef- 
fity of religion to the well-being of a nation. " Of all 
¥ the difpofitions and habits which lead to political 
** profperity," he fays, " religion and morality are in- 
" difpenfable fupports. In vain would that man claim 
" the tribute of patriotifm, who fhould labour to fub- 
" vert thefe great pillars of human happinefs, thefe 
" firmeit props of men and citizens. The mere poli- 
" tician, equally with the pious man, ought to refpe£fc 
*? and to cherilh them. A volume could not trace ail 
" their connexions with private and public felicity. 
" Let it be fimply aiked, where is the fecurity for prop- 
" erty, for reputation, for life, if the fenfe of religious 
" obligation defert the oaths which are the inftruments 
" of inveftigation in the courts of juftice ? And let us 
M with caution indulge the fuppofition, that morality 
" can be maintained without religion. Whatever may 
" be conceded to the influence of refined education on 
" minds of peculiar ftructure ; reafon and experience 
« both forbid us to expecl: that national morality cars 
£« prevail in exclufion of religious principle.'* 



Chrifiiaftity a Source of Happinefs. [Part L 



Upon the whole, the evidence of this chapter proves 
that Chriftianity is not only a living principle of virtue 
in good men, but affords this farther bleffing to fociety, 
that it retrains the vices of the bad. It is a tree of 
life whofe fruit is immortality, and whofe very leaves 
are for the healing of the nations. 



CHAP. VII. 

Chriftianity is a fource of happitiefs to individuals and 
fociety ; but Deifrn leaves both the one and the other 
without hope, 

HT 

X HOUGH the happinefs of creatures be not admit- 
ted to be the final end of God's moral goverment, yet 
it is freely allowed to occupy an important place in 
the fyftem. God is good ; and his goodnefs appears 
in his having fo blended the honour of his name with 
die felicity of his creatures, that in feeking the one 
they mould find the other. In fo important a light 
do we confider human happinefs, as to be willing to 
allow that to be the true religion which is moft adapt- 
ed to promote it. 

To form an accurate judgment on this fubje£t, it is 
neceffary to afcertain wherein happinefs confifts. We 
ought neither to expect, nor defire, in the prefent life, 
fuch a ftate of mind as wholly excludes painful fenfa- 
tions. Had we lefs of the exercifes of godly forrow, 
our facred pleafures would be fewer than they are : or 
were we unacquainted with the afflictions common to 
men, we Ihould be lefs able to iympathize with them ; 
which would be injurious not only to fociety, but to 
ourfelves, as it would deprive us of one of the richer! 
fources of enjoyment. 

Mr. Hume, in one of his EfTays, very properly call- 
ed The Sceptic, feems to think that happinefs lies in 
having one's inclinations gratified ; and as different 



Chap. VII.] Chrijianity a Source of Happinefs, 97 



men have different inclinations, and even the fame 
men at different times, that may be happinefs in one 
cafe which is mifery in another. This fceptical wri- 
ter, however, would hardly deny that in happinefs, as 
in other things, there is a falfe and a true, an imagi- 
nary and a real ; or that a ftudied indulgence of the ap- 
petites and paflions, though it mould promote the one, 
would deftroy the other. The light of nature, as ac- 
knowledged even by deifts, teaches that felf-denial, in 
many cafes, is neceffary to felf-prefervation 5 and that 
to act a contrary part would be to ruin our peace, and 
deftroy our health.* I prefume it will be granted that 
no definition of happinefs can be complete, which in- 
cludes not peace of mind, which admits not of perpe- 
tuity, or which anfwers not the necefhties and miferies 
of human life. 

But if nothing deferve the name of happinefs which 
does not include peace of mind, all criminal pleafure is 
at once excluded. Could a life of unchaftity, intrigue, 
difhonour, and difappointed pride, like that of Rouf- 
feau, be a happy life ? No ; amidfl the brilliancy of 
his talents, remorfe, (hame, confcious meannefs, and 
the dread of a hereafter, muft corrode his heart, and 
render him a ftranger to peace. Contrail with the 
life of this man that of Howard. Pious, temperate, 
juft, and benevolent, he lived for the good of man- 
kind. His happinefs confifted in ferving his generation 
by the will of God. If all men were like Roufteau, the 
world would be much more miferabie than it is : If 
all were like Howard, it would be much more happy. 
Rouffeau, governed by the love of fame, is fretful and 
peevifh, and never fatisfied with the treatment he re- 
ceives : Howard, governed by the love of mercy, 
Ihrinks from applaufe, with this mode ft and juft re- 
flection : " Alas, our beft performances have fuch a 
" mixture of fin and folly, that praife is vanity, and 
" prefumption, and pain to a thinking mind." Rouf- 
feau, after a life of debauchery and fhame ? confefles it 
I 2 

* Volney's Law of Nature, p. 12, 



9 8 



Chnfiianit) a Source of Habpinefs. [Part L. 



to the world, and makes a merit of his confeflion, and 
even prefumptuoufly fuppofes that it will avail him 
before the Judge of all : Howard, after a life of An- 
gular devotednefs to God, and benevolence to men, 
accounted himfelf an unprofitable fervant, leaving this 
for his motto, his laft teltimony, Christ is my hope. 
Can there be any doubt which of the two was the 
happieft man ? 

Further, If nothing amounts to real happinefs which 
admits not of perpetuity, all natural pleafure, when 
weighed againft the hopes and joys of the gofpel, will 
be found wanting. It is an expreffive characleriftic 
of the good things of this life, that they all perifo with 
the ufing. The charms of youth and beauty quickly 
fade. The power of relifhing natural enjoyments is 
foon gone. The pleafures of active life, of building* 
planting, forming fchemes, and achieving enterprizes 
foon follow. In old age none of them will flourifh \ 
and in death they are exterminated. The mighty man* 
and. the man of toar, the judge, and the prophet, and the 
prudent, and the ancient, the captain of fifty, and the hon- 
ourable man, and the counfellor, and the cunning artifice}',, 
and the eloquent orator, all defcend in one undiftinguifh- 
ed mafs into oblivion. And as this is a truth which 
no man can difpute, thofe who have no profpecls of 
a higher nature, mufl: often feel themfelves unhappy. 
Contrail with this the joys of the gofpel. Thefe, in- 
ftead of being diminiihed by time, are often increafed, 
To them the foil of age is friendly. While nature has 
been fading, and perifhing by flow degrees, how often 
have we fcen faith, hope, love, patience, and refigna- 
tion to God, in full bloom. Who but Chriftians can 
contemplate the lofs of all prefent enjoyments with 
fatisfaction ? Who elfe can view death, judgment, 
and eternity, with defire ? I appeal to the hearts of 
unbelievers, whether they have not many mifgivings 
and revoltings within them ; and whether in the hour 
of folitary reflection they have not fighed the wifh of 
Balaam, Let me die the death of the right ecus } end let my 
loft end be like his I 



Chap. VII.] Chrijlianity a Source of Happinefs, 99 



It is obfervable that even RoufTeau himfelf, though 
the language certainly did not become his lips, affected 
to derive confoiation in advanced life from Chriftian 
principles. In a letter to Voltaire, he fays, " I can- 
" not help remarking, Sir, a very lingular contrail be- 
« tween you and me. Sated with glory, and unde- 
" ceived with the inanity of worldly grandeur , you 
I live at freedom, in the midft of plenty, certain of 
T. immortality ; you peaceably philofophize on the na~ 
" ture of the foul ; and if the body cr the heart are 
" indifpofed, you have Tronchin for your phyfician 
and friend. Yet with all this you find nothing but 
" evil on the face of the earth. I, on the other hand,. 
obfcure, indigent, tormented with an incurable dif- 
|< order, meditate, with pleafure, in my folitude, and 
& find every thing to be good. Whence arife thefe 
" apparent contradictions ? You have yourfelf ex- 
" plained them. You live in a ftate of enjoyment, I 
p in a ftate of hope ; and hope gives charms to every 
" thing."* 

Finally, If nothing deferves the name of happinefs 
which meets not the necejfities, nor relieves the miferies of 
human life, Chriltianity alone can claim it. Every one 
who looks into his own heart, and makes proper ob- 
servations on the difpofitions of others, will perceive 
that man is pofiefled of a defire after fomething which: 
is not to be found under the fun — after a good which 
has no limits. We may imagine our defires are 
moderate, and fet boundaries beyond which we may 
flatter ourfelves we mould never wifh to pafs ; but 
this is felf-deception. He that fets his heart on an 
eflate, if he gain it, will wifh for fomething more. It 
would be the fame if it were a kingdom ; or even if all 
the kingdoms of the world were united in one. Nor 
is this delire to be attributed merely to human deprav- 
ity j for it is the fame with regard to knowledge : the 
mind is never fatisfied with, its prefent acquifitions, 
it is depravity that directs us to feek fatisfaction in 

* Works, Vol. IX. p. 33& 

: L. of 0. 



Too Chriftianity a Source of Happinefs. [Part L 



fomething {hort of God ; but it is owing to the nature 
of the foul that we are never able to find it. It is not 
poffible that a being created immortal, and with a mind 
capable of continual enlargement, fbculd obtain iatif- 
fattion in a limited good. Men may fpend their time 
and ftrength, and even facrince their fouls in ftriving 
to grafp it, but it will elude their purfuit. It is only 
from an uncreated fource that the mind can drink its 
fill. Here it is that the gofpel meets our neceffities. 
Its language is, Ho, every one that thirfeth, come ye to the 
waters, and he that hath no money : come ye, buy and eat ; 
yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without 
price. Wherefore do ye fpend money for that which is not 
bread, and your labour for that which fatisfeth not ? 
Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, 
and let your foul delight if elf 'm fttnefs. Incline your ear, 
and come unto me : hear, and your foul Jhall live. In the 
loft day, that great day of the feafl, Jefus food and cried, 
fiyingp If any man thirf, let him co?ne unto me and drink. 
He that cometh to me fjall never hunger ; a?id he that be~ 
lieveth in mefiall never thirfl.* How this language has 
been verified, all who have made the trial can teftify. 
To them, as to the only competent witnefTes, I appeal. 

It is not merely the nature of the foul, however, but 
its depravity, from whence our necefikies arife. We 
are finners. Every man who believes there is a God, 
and a future ftate, or even only admits the poffibility 
of them, feels the want of mercy. The firft inquiries 
of a mind awakened to reflection wifl be, how he may 
efcape the wrath to come how he fhall get over his 
everlafting ruin ? A heathen, previous to any Chrif- 
tian inftructicn, exclaimed, in the moment of alarm, 
What mujl I do to be faved Pf And feveral Mahome- 
dans, being lately warned by a Chriftian minifter of 
their finful ftate, came the next morning to him with 
this very ferious queftion, Keman par hoibo — " How 
« fhall we get over ?"{ To anfwer thefe inquiries is 

* Ifai.lv. i, 2, 3. John vii. 37. vi. 35. f Acts xvi. 30. 

\ Periodical Accounts of the Baptift Miflionary Society, No. IV, 
p. 3*6. 



Chap. VII.] Ckriftianity a Source of Happinefs. I or 



beyond the power of any principles but thofe of the 
gofpel. Philofophy may conjecture, fuperftition may 
deceive, and even a falfe fyftem of Chriftianity may 
be aiding and abetting ; each may labour to lay the 
confcience afleep, but none of thefe can yield it fatii- 
fa&ion. It is only by believing in Jefus Chrift, the 
great facrifice that taketh away the fin of the world, 
that the finner obtains a relief which will bear reflec- 
tion ; a relief which, at the fame time, gives peace to 
the mind, and purity to the heart. For the truth of 
this, alfo, I appeal to all who have made the trial. 

Where, but in the gofpel, will you find relief un- 
der the innumerable ills of the prefent date ? This is 
the well known refuge of Chriftians, are they poor, af- 
flicted, perfecuted, or reproached ? They are led to 
confider Him who endured the contradiction of fin- 
tiers, who lived a life of poverty and ignominy, who 
endured perfecution and reproach, and death itfeif, for 
them ; and to realize a bleffed immortality in profpect. 
By a view of fuch things their hearts are cheered, and 
their afflictions become tolerable. Looking to Jefus., 
who, for the joy fet before him, endured the crofs, 
defpifing the mame, and is now fet down at the right 
hand of the throne of God, they run with patience 
the race that is fet before them. 

But what is the comfort of unbelievers ? Life being 
fhort, and having no ground to hope for any thing be- 
yond it, if they be crofted here they become inconfola- 
ble. Hence it is not uncommon for perfons of this 
defcription, after the example of the philofophers and 
ftatefmen of Greece and Rome, when they find them- 
felves deprefled by adverfity, and have no profpecl of 
recovering their fortunes, to put a period to their lives ! 
Unhappy men ! Is this the felicity to which ye would 
introduce us ? Is it in guilt, fhame, remorfe, and def- 
peration that ye defcry fuch charms ? Admitting that 
our hope of immortality is vifionary, where is the in- 
jury ? If it be a dream, is it not a pleafant one ? 
To fay the leaft, it beguiles many a melancholy hour 5 
and can do no mifchief ; but if it be a reality, what 
will become of you I 



ro2 Chri/liaftity a Source of Happinefs. [Part I» 

I may be told, that if many put a period to their 
lives through unbelief, there is an equal number who 
fall Sacrifices to religious melancholy. But to ren- 
der this objection of force, it lhouid be proved that the 
religion of Jefus Chrift is the caufe of this melancholy* 
Reafon may convince us of the being of a God, and 
confcience bear witnefs that we are expofed to his dif- 
pleafure. Now if in this ftate of mind the heart refufe 
to acquiefce in the gofpel way of falvation, we lhail, 
of courfe, either reft in fome delufive hope, or fink 
into defpair. But here, it is not religion, but the want 
of it that generates the evil. It is unbeiief, and not 
faith, that finks the finner into defponcency. Chrif* 
tianity difowns fuch characters. It records fome few 
examples, fuch as Saul, Ahithophel, and Judas : but 
they are all branded as apoftates from God and true 
religion. On the contrary, the writings of unbeliev- 
ers, both ancient and modern, are known to plead 
for fuicide, as an expedient in extremity. Roufieau, 
Hume and others, have written in defence of it. The 
principles of fuch men both produce and require it- 
It is the natural offspring of unbelief,, and the laft refort 
of disappointed pride. 

"Whether Chriftianity, or the want of it, be beft 
adapted to relieve the heart under its various prefTures, 
let thofe teftify who have been in the habit cf vifiting 
the afflicted poor. On this fubjedt the writer of thefe 
meets can fpeak from his own knowledge. In this 
fituation characters of very oppofite defcriptions are 
found. Some are ferious and fmcere Chriftians \ others, 
even among thofe who have attended the preaching 
of the gofpel, appear neither to underftand nor to feel 
it. The tale of woe is told, perhaps, by both : but 
the one is unaccompanied with that discon- 
tent, that wretched neis of mind, and that incli- 
nation to defpair, which is manifeft in the other. Of- 
ten have I feen the cheerful fmile of contentment un- 
der circumftances the moft abjecl. and a^itlive. 
Amidft tears of forrow, which a full heart has ren- 
dered it impoflible to fupprefs, a mixture of hope ajid 



Chap. VII.] Chrffianity a Source of Happinefs. 103 

joy has gliftened. « The cup which my Father hath 
it given me to drink, fhall I not drink it ?" Such have 
been their feelings, and fuch their expreflions ; and 
where this has been the cafe, death has generally been 
embraced as the mefTenger of peace. Here, I have 
faid, participating of their fenfations, here is the patience, 
and the faith of the faints. Here are they that keep the com- 
mandments of God, and the faith of Jefus. This is the vic- 
tory that over cometh the world* even our faith. Who is 
he that overeometh the world, but he that believeth that 
jfefus is the Son of God P 

From individual happinefs let us proceed to examine 
that of fociety. Let us inquire whether there be any 
well-grounded hope of the future melioration of the 
ftate of mankind befides that which is afforded by the 
gofpel. Great expectations have been raifed of an 
end being put to wars, and of univerfal good-will per- 
vading the earth, in confequence of philofophical illu- 
mination, and the prevalence of certain modes of civil 
government. But thefe fpeculations proceed upon 
falfe data. They fuppofe that the caufe of thefe evils 
is to be looked for in the ignorance, rather than in the 
depravity of men : or if depravity be allowed to have 
any influence, it is confined to the precincts of a court. 
Without taking upon me to decide which is the beft form 
of civil government, or what mode is mod adapted to 
promote the peace and happinefs of mankind, it is 
fufficient, in this cafe, to (hew that wars generally 
originate, as the apoftle James fays, in the lufls, 
or corrupt paffions of mankind. If this be proved, it 
will follow, that however fome forms of government 
may be more friendly to peace and happinefs than 
others, yet no radical cure can be effected till the dif- 
poficions of men are changed. Let power be placed 
where it may, with one, or with many, ftill it muft 
be in the hands of men. If all governments were fo 
framed as that every national act fhould be expreffive 
of the real will of the people, ftill if the preponderat- 
ing part of them be governed by pride and felf-lovc 
rather than equity, we are not much the nearer. Gov- 



104 'Chrifliamty a Source of Happtnefs. [Part L 



ernors taken from the common mafs of fcciety, mufl 
* needs referable it. If there be any difference at the 
time of their nrft elevation to office, owing, as may 
be fuppofed, to the preference which all men give to 
an upright character for the management of their 
concerns, yet this advantage will be balanced, if not 
overbalanced, by the fubfequent temptations to inju£« 
tice which are afforded by fituations of wealth and 
power. 

What is the fource of contentions in common life ? 
Obferve the difcords in neighbourhoods and families ; 
which, nctwithftanding all the reftraints of relation- 
fhip, intereft, honour, law, and reafon, are a fire that 
never ceafes to burn ; and which, were they no more 
controlled by the laws than independent nations from 
each other, would, in thoufands of inftances, break 
forth into affalTmaticns and murders. From whence 
fpring thefe wars ? Are they the refult of ignorance ? 
If fo, they would chiefly be confined to the rude, or 
uninformed part of the community. But is it fo ? 
There may, it is true, be more pretences to peace and 
gocd-will, and fewer burfts of open refentment in the 
higher, than in the lower orders of people : but their 
difpofitions are much the fame. The laws of polite- 
nefs can only polifh the furface ; and there are feme 
parts of the human character which ft ill appear very 
rough. Even politenefs has its regulations for ftrife 
and murder, and eftablifhes iniquity by a law. The 
evil difpofition is a kind of fubterraneous fire ; and it 
will have vent in fome form. Are they the refult of 
court influence ? No. The truth is, if civil government 
in fome form did not influence the fears of the unjufl 
and contentious part of the community, there would be 
no fecurity to thofe who are peaceably inclined, and 
efpecially to thofe who are withal religious, and whofe 
pious conduct, like that of Noah, condemns the world. 
Now, the fame difpofition which in perfons whofe 
power extends only to a cottage, will operate in a way 
of domeflic difcord, in others, whofe influence extends 
t$ the affairs of nations, will operate on a more en- 



CHIP. VII.] Chrijlianiiy a Source of Happ'wefs. 1 05 

larged fcalc ; producing war and all the dire calamities 
which attend it. The fum of the whole is this : when 
the preponderating part of the world fhall ceafe to be 
proud, ambitious* envious, covetous, lovers of their 
own felves, falfe, malignant, and intriguing ; when 
they fhall love God and one another out of a pure 
heart ; then, and not till then, may we expect wars to 
ceafe, and the ftate of mankind to be effentially meli- 
orated. While thefe difpofitions remain, they will be 
certain to mew themfelves. If the beft laws or con- 
ftitution in the world ftands in their way, they will, 
on certain occafions, bear down all before them. 

An anonymous writer in the Monthly Magazine,* 
(a work which without avowing it, is pretty evidently 
devoted to the caufe of infidelity) has inftituted an in- 
quiry into " the probability of the future melioration of 
u the ftate of mankind." A difmal profpect indeed it 
is which he holds up to his fellow-creatures ; yet were 
I an infidel, like him, I mould acquiefce in many things 
which he advances. The anchor of his hopes is an in- 
creafe of knowledge, and the effects of this are circum- 
fcribed within a very narrow boundary. With refpecl; 
to what we call civilization^ he reckons it to have under- 
gone all the viciflitudes of which it is capable. Scien- 
tific refinement may contribute to the happinefs of a few 
individuals, but he fears cannot be made a ground of 
much advantage to the mafs of mankind. Great fcope 
indeed remains for the operation of increafed knowledge 
in improvement in government : but even here it can only 
cure thofe evils which arife from ignorance, and not 
thofe which proceed from intention, which, " while 
« the propenfity to prefer our own interefls above that 
fj of the community is, as he acknowledges, interwoven 
« into our very nature," will always form the mafs of 
exifting ills. If indeed the majority of a community, 
he fays, became fo enlightened concerning their inter- 
efts, and fo wife, fteady, and unanimous in the purfuit 
of them, as to overcome all that refiftance which the 



* For February, 1799, p. 9. 

K 



106 Chrijlianity a Source of Happinefs. [Part L 



pofieflbrs of undue advantages will always make to a 
change unfavourable to themfelves, fomething might 
be hoped for. But this, while they are under their old 
matters, he reckons as next to impoflible. As to polit-. 
ical revolutions, he did form high expectations from 
them j but his hopes are at an end. " I have only 
" the wifh left," fays he, « the confidence is gone." 
As to improved fyjlems of morality, which he ccnfiders 
as the art of living happy, though it might feem prom- 
ifing, yet hiftory, he very juftly remarks, does not allow 
us to expecl: that men in proportion as they advance 
in this fpecies of knowledge, will become more juft, 
more temperate, or more benevolent. Of the extinc- 
tkn of wars, he has no hope. The new order of 
things which feemed opening in Europe, and to bid 
fair for it, has rather increafed the evil ; and as to 
Chrifianity, it has been tried, it feems, and found to be 
inefficient for the purpofe. Commerce, inftead of 
binding the nations in a golden chain of mutual peace 
and friendmip, feems only to have given additional 
motives for war. 

The amount is, there is little or no hope of the ftate 
of mankind being meliorated on public principles- All 
the improvement he can difcernin this way confifts in 
there being a little more lenity in the government of 
fome countries than formerly ; and as to this, it is bal- 
anced by the prodigious increafe of ftanding armies, 
and other national burdens. 

The only way in which an increafe of knowledge is to 
operate to the melioration of the ftate of mankind, is 
in private life. It is to foften and humanize men's 
manners, and emancipate their minds from the (hackles 
of fuperftition and bigotry, names which writers of 
this clafs commonly bellow upon Chriftianity. This 
is the boundary beyond which, whatever be his wifhes, 
the hopes of this writer will not fuffer him to pafs ; and 
even this refpects only Europe and her immediate con- 
nexions, and not the whole of them. The great mafs 
of mankind are in an abfolutely hopelefs condition : 
for there are no means of carrying our improvements 



Chap. VII.] Chrijltanity a Source of Happittefs. 107 



among them but by conqueft, and conqueft is a Pan- 
dora's box, at the mention of which he fhudders. 

Such are the profpecls of unbelievers ; fuch is the 
horrid defpondency under which they fink when Prov- 
idence counteracts their favourite fchemes 5 and fuch 
the fpirit which they take pains to infufe into the 
minds of men in order to make them happy ! Chris- 
tian reader, Have you no better hopes than thefe ? Are 
you not acquainted with a principle, which, like the 
machine of Archimedes, will remove this mighty mafs 
of evils ? Be they as great and as numerous as the/ 
may, if all can be reduced to a Tingle eaufe, and that 
caufe removed, the work is done. All the evils of 
which this writer complains, are reducible to that one 
principle, which he fays, (and 'tis well he fays it) M is* 
" interwoven into our very nature ; namely, the pro- 
" penfity to prefer our own interefts above that of the 
" community." It is this propenfity that operates in 
the great, and induces them to <f oppofe every thing 
" that would be unfavourable to their power and ad- 
" vantage ;'' and the fame thing operates among 
common people ; great numbers of whom, it is well 
known, would fell their country for a piece of bread. 
If this principle cannot be removed, I {hall, with this 
writer, forever defpair of any effcntial changes for the 
better, in the ftate of mankind, and" will content my- 
felf with cultivating private and domeftic happinefs, 
and hoping for the bleffednefs of a future life : but if 
it can, I muft leave him to defpair alone. 

My hopes are not founded on forms of government^ 
nor even on an increafe of knowledge, though each 
may have its value ; but on the fpirit by which both the 
rulers and the people will be governed. All forms of 
government have hitherto refted on the bans of felf- 
love. The wifeft and beft ftatefmen have been obliged 
to take it for granted that the mafs of every people will 
be" governed by this principle ; and consequently all 
their fchemes have been directed to the balancing of 
things in fuch a manner, as that people in purfuing 
their own intereft Ihould promote that of the public. 



Tc8 Chri/iianky a Source of Happ'mefs. [Part L 



If in any cafe they have prefumed on the contrary, 
experience has foon taught them that all their fch ernes 
are vifionary, and inapplicable to real life. But if the 
mafs of the people, compofed of all the different orders 
of fociety, were governed by a fpirit of juftice and dif- 
interefted benevolence, fyftems of government might 
fafely be formed on this bafis. It would then be fufr 
ficient for ftatefmen to appertain what was right, and 
beft adapted to promote the good of the community, 
and the people would cheerfully purfue it; and purfu- 
ing this, would find their own good more effectually 
promoted than by ail the little difcordant arts of a 
felfifn mind. 

The excellence of the moll admired constitutions 
which have hitherto appeared in the world, has chiefly 
confifted in the balance of power being fo diftributed; 
amongft the different orders of fociety, as that no one 
ihould materially opprefs or injure the other. They 
have endeavoured to fet boundaries to each other's en? 
croachrnents, and contrived in fome degree to coun- 
teract venality, corruption, and tumult. But all this 
iuppofes a corrupt ftate of fociety, and amounts to no 
mere than making the beft of things, taking them as. 
tjiey are. Locks, and keys, and bolts, and bars are 
lieceffary in our houfes as things are ; but it were htU. 
ter if there were no occafion for them. I do not take 
apon me to fay that things will ever be in fuch a ftate 
as that there fnall be no need of thefe political precau- 
tions ; but I believe they will be far iefs neceflary than 
ihey now are. 

If the Bible be true, the knowledge of the Lord will 
cover the earth as the waters cover the fea ; the king- 
doms of this world will become the kingdoms of our 
Lord and of his Chrift •, idolatry, and every fpecies of 
falfe religion, (hall be no more ; the art and inftruments 
of war (hall be laid afide, and exchanged for thofe of 
hufbandry •, the different tribes of men (hall be united 
in one common band of brotherly love ; flavery and 
oppreffion will ceafe ; righteoufnefs will be eftablifhed 
in the earth : and the work of righteoufnefs fhall be 



Chap. VII.] Chriftianity a Source of Happinefs. ro<) 



peace, and the efFedl of righteoufnefs, quietnefs and 
affurance forever. 

But M Chriftianity has been tried, it feems, and found 
« infufficient." That it has not been as yet fufficient 
to banifh unjuft wars from the earth, is true ; and it 
were more than wonderful if it had, feeing it has never 
yet been cordially embraced by the majority, nor per- 
haps by the preponderating part of any nation. Nev- 
ertheleis it has had its influence. This gloomy writer 
himfelf acknowledges that the ftate of fociety in Europe 
and America, that is to fay in Chriftendom, is far pref- 
erable to what it is in other parts of the earth. Of the 
reft of the world he has no hope'. Has Chriftianity 
done nothing in this cafe ? That thoufands in differ- 
ent nations are, by a cordial belief of it, rendered fo- 
ber, juft, difmterefted, and peaceable; and that the 
ftate of fociety at large is greatly meliorated, has been 
proved, I hope, already ;* to believe then in the future 
accomplishment of the foregoing prophecies is only to 
believe that what is already effected in individuals will 
be extended to the general body of mankind, or, at- 
leaft, to fuch a proportion cf them as fhall be fufii-- 
cient to give a preponderance in human affairs.. 

Moreover, the fame book which declares that the 
kingdoms of this world fvall become the kingdoms of our 
Lord and of his Chrifl, has foretold, in a great variety 
of language, the downfal of the Papal Antichrift, and: 
that by means of the fame powers from which its do- 
minion was firft derived. We have in part feen the 
fulfilment of the one, and live in expectation of the 
other. We are not ignorant of the evil defigns of in- 
fidels, but we believe that God is above them, and that 
they are only mftruments in his hand in the fulfilment 
of his word. While,, therefore, we feel for the mis- 
eries of mankind, occafioned by the dreadful devasta- 
tions of war, we forrow not as thofe who htve no i 
hope; but are perfuaded that all things, even now,. 
3*e working together for good ; and while we pity- 
K 2 

* Chap,V. V-V 



2 10 



Chrifttamiy a Source of Happlnep. [Part L 



individual fufferers, we cannot join the whining lam- 
entations of interefted men, Alas, alas, that great city f 
On the contrary, we feel difpofed to join the fong of 
the heavenly ho ft, Amm, Alleluia ! Salvation, and hon- 
our , and glory, and power be unto the Lord our God s for 
true and righteous are his judgments^-Let us be glad, and 
rejoice, cnid give honour to him t for the marriage of the 
Lamb is come, and his bride hath made herfelf ready. 

If, according to the doctrine of Bolingbroke, Vol- 
ney, and other deifts, we knew no other fource of vir- 
tue and happinefs than felf-hve, we mould often be lefs 
happy than we are. Our bleffednefs is bound up with 
that of Chrift and his followers throughout the world. 
His friends are our friends, and his enemies our ene- 
mies. They that feek his life* feek ours. The pros- 
perity of his kingdom is our profperity ; and we prefer 
it above our chief joy. From the public ftock of blefE- 
ednefs, being thus confidered as the common property 
cf every individual, arifes a great and conftant influx 
of enjoyment. Hence it is that in times when tem- 
poral comforts fail us, or family troubles deprefs us, 
©r a cloud hangs over our particular connexions, or 
death threatens to arreft us in a courfe of pleafing la- 
bour, we have ftill our refources of confolation. * Af« 

* fairs with rne are finking j but he miift increafe'*-—* My 

* houfe is not fo with God ; but the kingdom of my 
4 Lord fhall be eftablifhed forever/ — His intereft finks 
m this congregation but it rifes elfewhere !— « I die : 
« but God will furely vifit you !' Such is the heritage 
of the fervants of the Lord j and fuch the blefiednefs 
of thcfe whofe chief defire it is, that they may fee the 
good of his chofen ; that they may rejoice in the gladnefs of 
his nation and thai they may glory with his inheritance* 



THE 

GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS, &c» 



PART IL 

3N WHICH THE HARMONY OF THE CHRISTIAN RE- 
LIGION IS CONSIDERED AS AN EVIDENCE 
OF ITS DIVINITY. 

If ChrifKanity be an impoflure, it may, like al! other 
impoftures, be detected. Falfehood may always be 
proved to clam with fact, with reafon or with itfelf i 
and often with them all. If, on the contrary, its or- 
igin be divine, it may be expected to bear the charac- 
ter of confiftency, which diftinguifhes every other di- 
vine production. If the Scriptures can be proved to 
harmonize with hiftoric fact, with truth, with them- 
felves, and with fober reafon ; they muft, confidering 
what they profefs, be divinely inipired, and Chriftian~ 
ity muii be of God. 



CHAP. L 

The harmony of Scripture ivith hiftoric facl } evinced hy the 
fulfilment of prophecy. 

If the pretence which the Scriptures make to divine 
inspiration be unfounded, it can be no very difficult 
undertaking to prove it fo. The facred writers, befides 
abounding in hiitory, doctrine, an4 morality, have 



Fulfilment of Prophecy. 



[Part IT, 



dealt largely in prophecy ; and this not in the manner 
of the heathen prieils, who made ufe of dark and du- 
bious language. Their meaning in general is capable 
of being understood, even at this diftance of time \ and 
in many inftances cannot be miftaken. The difpute, 
therefore, between believers and unbelievers is reduc- 
ible to a fhort iflue. If Scripture prophecy be divinely 
infpired, it will be accomplished ; but if it be impof- 
ture, it will not. 

Let us fuppofe that, by digging In the earth, a chefi 
were difcovered, containing a number of ancient curi- 
ofities, and among other things, a tablet> infcribed 
with calculations of the moft remarkable eclipfes that 
fhould take place for a great while to come. Thefe 
calculations are examined, and found to correfpond 
with fact for more than two thoufand years paft. 
The infpectors cannot agree perhaps in deciding who 
was the author, whether it had not gone through fev- 
eral hands when it was depofited in the cheft, and 
various other queftions : but does this invalidate the 
truth of the calculations, or diminifh the value of the 
tablet ? 

It cannot be objected that events have been predict- 
ed from mere political forefight,. which have actually 
come to pafs : for though this may have been the cafe 
in a few inftances, wherein caufes have already exifted 
which afforded ground for the conclufron ; yet it is 
impoflib-le that the fucceffive changes and revolutions; 
of empires, Come of which were more than a thoufand. 
years diftant, and depended on ten thoufand unknown* 
incidents, fhould be the objects of human Speculation. 

Mr. Paine feems to feel the difficulty attending his 
caufe on this fubject. His method of meeting.it is not 
by foberly examining the agreement or difagreement of 
prophecy and hiitory ; that would not have fuited his 
purpofiis but, as though he had made a wonderful dif- 
covery, he in the rirft place goes about to prove that the 
prophets wrote poetry; and from hence would perfuade 
us that a prophet was no other than an ancient Jewifh 
bard. That the prophecies are what is new called pc* 



Chap. I.] Fulfilment of Prophecy. 



etic, Mr. Paine need not have given himfelf the trouble 
to prove, as no perfon of common understanding can 
doubt it ; but the queftion is, did not thefe writings, in 
whatever kind of language they were written, contain 
prediclions of future events ; yea, and of the mod notori- 
ous and remarkable events, fuch as mould form the 
grand outlines of hiftory in the following ages ? Mr. 
Paine will not deny this : nor will he fcberly undertake 
to difprove that many of thofe events have already come 
to pafs. He will, however, take a fhorter method ; a 
method more fuited to his turn of mind. He will call 
the prophets "impoftors and liars :" he will roundly af- 
fert, without a fhadow of proof, and in defiance of hik 
toric evidence, that the prediction concerning Cyrus 
was written after the event took place : he will labour to 
pervert and explain away fome few of the prophecies, 
and get rid of the reft by calling the writer " a falfe 
" prophet," and his production " a book of falfehoods."* 
Thefe are weapons worthy of Mr. Paine's warfare. 
But why all this rage againft aa ancient bard ? Juft; 
now a prophet was only a poet, and the idea of a pre-* 
dictor of future events was not included in the mean-* 
ing of the term. It feems, however, by this time, that 
Mr. Paine has found a number of prediSlions in the pro* 
phetic writings, to get rid of which he is obliged, aa. 
is ufual with him in cafes of emergency, to fummon 
all his talenta for mifreprefentation and abufe. 

I take no particular notice of this writer's attempts 
to explain away a few of the predictions of Ifaiah, and 
other prophets. Thofe who have undertaken to an- 
fwer him, have performed this part of the bufinefs. I 
fhall only notice that he has not dared to meet the 
great body of Scripture prophecy, or fairly to look~k 
in the face. 

To fay nothing of the predictions of the deftruction 
of mankind by a flood ; of that of Sodom and Go- 
morrha by fire ; of the defendants of Abraham being 
put in pofTeffion of Canaan within a limited period ; 

* Age of ReafoB, Part II. p. 44, 47, 



114 



Fulfilment cf Prophecy. 



[Part IL 



and of various other events, the hiilory as well as 
prophecy of which is confined to the Scriptures ; let 
us review thole predictions, the fulfilment of which 
has been recorded by hiftorians who knew nothing of 
them, and eonfequently could have no defign in their 
favour. 

It is worthy of notice, that facred hiftory ends where 
profane hiftory, that part of it at leafl which is com- 
monly reckoned authentic, begins. Prior to the Baby- 
lonifh captivity, the fcriptural writers were in the 
habit of narrating the leading events of their country, 
and of incidentally introducing thofe of the iurroundmg 
nations : but ihortiy after this time the grea't changes 
in the world began to be recorded by other hands, as 
Herodotus, Xenophon, and others. From this period 
they dealt chiefly in prophecy, leaving it to common 
hiftorians to record its fulfilment. 

Mr. Paine fays the Scripture prophecies are " a book 
" of falfehoods." Let us examine this charge. Ifaiah, 
above a hundred years before the captivity, predicted 
the deftruction of the Babylonilh empire by the Medes 
and Perfians, and Judah's confequent deliverance. The 
plunderer is plunder ed, and the deflroyer is deflroyed : Ga 
up> O Elam * befege, O Media : all the crying thereof 
have I made to ceafe.* Afk Herodotus and Xenophon t 
Was this a falfehood ? 

Daniel, fourteen years before the eftablimment of the 
Medo-Perfian dominion by the taking of Babylon, de- 
fcribed that dominion, with its conquefts, and the fupe- 
riority of the Perfian influence to that of the Median, 
under the fynrrbol of a'ram with two horns. I lifted up 
mine eyes and faw, and behold there food by the river a ram 9 
which had two horns ; a?idthe two horns were high, and the 
higher came up loft. If aw the ram pufhing wefiwa rd, and 
northward, and fouth ward ; fo that no beajls might ftand be- 
fore him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his 
hand ; but he did according to his will, and became great. 

* Lowth's tranflation of Ifaiah, xxi. t. Other prophecies of the 
feme event may be feen in Ifai. xiii. xir. xxi. xliii. 14— J7. xliv*z8» 
*lv. 1-^4. xlvii. Jer, xxv, 1*— 26, I il Hab. 



Chap. I.] Fulfilment of Prophecy. 



"5 



This is expounded as follows : The ram which thou fatucfl 
having two horns are the kings of Media and Perfia. * Afk 
the afore-mentioned hiftorians : Was this a falfehood ? 

The fame Daniel, at the fame time, two hundred 
and twenty-three years before the event, predicted the 
•overthrow of this Medo-Perfian dominion, by the arms 
of Greece, under the command of Alexander; and de- 
fcribed the latter government under the fymbol of a 
he-goat, with a notable horn between his eyes. As I 
was considering, beheld a he-goat came from the wefl, on 
the face of the whole earth, and he touched not the ground. 
And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. And 
he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had feen 
Jianding by the river and ran unto him in the fury of his 
power. And J faw him come clofe unto the ram, and he 
.fwas moved with choler againfi him, and f mote the ram, 
and brake his two horns. And there was 110 power in the 
ram to jla?id before him ; but he cafi him down to the 
ground, and Jlamped upon him j and there was none that 
could deliver the ram out of his hand. The expofition of 
this vifion follows : The rough goat is the kingdom or 
power of Grecia : and the great horn that is between his 
.eyes is the firfl king.-f Aik Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch, 
and other hiftorians of tho.fe times : Was this a falfe- 
jhood? 

The fame Daniel, at the fame time, two hundred 
,and thirty years before the event, predicted the death 
: of Alexander, and the divifion of his empire amongft 
four of his principal commanders, each of whom had 
an extenfive dominion. The he-goat waxed very great : 
and when he was firong the great horn was broken ; and 
for it came ap four notable ones towards the four winds of 
heaven. The interpretation of this was as follows : 
Now the great horn being broken, whereas four flood up 
for it, four kingdoms /hall fland up out of the nation, but 
not in his power.\ Afk the afore-mentioned hiftorians 
£ of thofe times : Was this a falfehood ? 

,* Dan. viii. 3,4, 20. See alfo on the fame fubject, Chap. vii. J. 
f Dan. viii. 5 — 7,11. See alfo on the fame fubjecT:, Chap. xi. 2> 3,4, 
I Das. viii. S, %%. See alfo on the fame fubjetf:, Chap, vii, 6. 



n6 



Fulfilment cf Prophecy. [Part II. 



The fame Daniel, at the fame time, three hundred 
and eighty years before the event, foretold the out- 
rageous reign and fudden death of Antiochus Epiph- 
anesj king of Syria : particularly, that by flattery and 
treachery he mould accomplifh his end and, on ac- 
count of the degeneracy of the Jews, fhotild be permit- 
ted for a tirrre to ravage their country, interrupt their 
ordinary courfe of worfliip, profane their temple, and 
perfecute even to death thofe who refufed to comply 
with his heathen abominations : but that in the midft 
of his career he mould be cut off by a fudden vifitation 
from heaven. And out of one of them (the four branches 
of the Grecian empire) came forth a little horn, which 
waxed exceeding great, toward the fouth, and toward the 
taft, and toward the pleafant land. And it waxed great 
even to the hcfi cf heaven ; and it cafi down fome of the 
hfi, and of thefiars to the ground, and fiamped upon them. 
Tta, he magnified himfelf even to the prince of the hofl, and 
by him the daily facrifice was taken away, and the place of 
his fanBuary was cafl down. And a hofl was given htm 
cga 'nfi the daily facrifice, by reafon cf tranfgre/fion, and it 
cafl down the truth to the ground ; and it praElifed and 
profpered. Of this the following is the expofition : In 
the latter time of their kingdom, when the tranfgreffors are 
come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and under- 
fianditrg dark fentences, fhall fiand up. And his power 
fhall be mighty, but not by his own power : and he fijall 
defiroy wonderfully, and fijall profper and praclife, and fhall 
defiroy the mighty and the holy people. And through his 
policy alfo he fhall caufe craft to profper in his hand ; and 
he fhall magnify himftlf in his heart, and by peace fhall de- 
firoy many : and he fhall alfo fiand up againfi the prince of 
princes • but he fijall be broken without hand. 

Daniel alfo foretels, in the eleventh chapter of his 
prophecies, the wars between this king of Syria and 
Ptolemy Philometer, king of Egypt ; with the inter- 
pofition of the Romans, whpfe ambaflador fhould 
come over in fihips from Chittim, and compel him to 
defift : alfo that being thus difappointed of his objecl: f 
in Egypt, he fhould return full of wrath and indignation f 



Chap. I.] Fulfilment of Prophesy. 



117 



to his own land, and wreak his vengeance upon the 
Jews, whofe country lay in his way, though they had 
done nothing to offend him. I will not fay, afk Jofe- 
phus, Diodorus Siculus, and Polybius, if thefe were 
falfehoods ; afk Porphyry, a profeffed enemy to the 
Holy Scriptures, both of the Old and New Teftament, 
and who wrote againft them about the middle of the 
third century. He has proved from the teftimony of 
fix or feven hiftorians of thofe times, that thefe predic- 
tions were all exactly fulfilled : and like Mr. Paine, by 
the prophecies concerning Cyrus, is driven, merely on 
account of their being true, to fly in the face of hiftoric 
evidence, and maintain that they could not be the pro- 
duction of Daniel, jut muft have been written by fome 
Jew after the events took place.* 

As in the eighth and eleventh chapters of his proph- 
ecies Daniel has foretold the Perfian and Grecian gov- 
ernments, with the fubdivifions of the latter, and how 
they mould affect the Jewifh people •, fo in the feventh 
chapter he has, in connexion with them, foretold the 
government of Rome. This fingular empire he repre- 
fents as exceeding all that had gone before it, in pow- 
er and terror ; and as that of Greece, foon after the 
death of Alexander, ihould be divided into four king- 
doms, fignified by the four heads of the third bead, fo 
this it is foretold, mould be, at the time of its diffoiu- 
tion, divided into ten kingdoms, which are fignified by 
the ten horns of the fourth beaft. A Ik univerfal hifto- 
ry : Is this a falfehood ? Thofe who adopt the caufe of 
Porphyry muft in this inftance defert his hypothefis : 
they cannot fay that this part of the prophecy was 
written by fome Jew after the event took place, feeing 
Porphyry himfcif has acknowledged its exiftence fome 
hundreds of years before it was accomplifhed. 

The predictions of this prophet did not end here : 
he at the fame time foretold that there fhould arife 
among the ten kingdoms, into which the Roman em- 

* See Prideaux's Connexion, Part I. Book II. VIII. Part II. Book 
III. where the accomplifliment of all the foregoing events is clearly 
narrated, and the authorities cited, 

L 



1 1 8 Fulfilment of Prophecy [Part II. 

pire mould be broken, a power diverfe from all the 
reft ; a little horn which mould /peak great words againfl 
the Mofi High, and wear oict the Jaints of the Mofl High ; 
and that this power mould continue until a time, and 
tunes, and the dividing of time. At the end of this pe- 
riod, he adds, the judgment fhall fit, and they Jhall take 
away his dominion, to cot/ume and to defiroy unto the end. 
Are thefe faliehoods ? Let the hiftory of the laft twelve 
hundred years, and the prefent Hate of the Papal hie<- 
rarchy, determine. 

Palling over the predictions of the Mefliah, whofe 
birth, place of nativity, time of appearance, manner of 
life, doctrine^ miracles, death and refurreciion, were 
each particularly pointed out,* let us examine a few 
examples from the New Teftament. Our Lord Jefus 
Chrift foretold the deftru&ion of Jerui'alem by the 
Romans, and limited the time of its accomplifhment 
to the then prefent generation f Alk Jofephus, the Jew- 
ifh hiftorian : Is this a faifehood ? 

It was intimated at the fame time, that the Jewifh 
people mould not only fall by the edge of- the fword, 
but that great numbers of them mould be led away cap* 
five into all nations ; and that Jerufalem fhould be trodden 
down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles fhould be 
fidfilled.% Afk the prefent descendants of that unhap- 
py people: Is this a faifehood ? 

The apoftte cf the Gentiles foretold that there 
fhould be a falling away, or a grand apoftafy in the 
Chriftian church ; wherein the man of fin fhould be re- 
vealed, even the /on of perdition ,■ who would oppofe> and 
exalt himfelf above all that is called God, or that is worflnp- 
ped ; and who as God would fit in the temple of Gcd,fhew~- 
ing himfelf to be GcJ.§ Alfo in his epiftle to Timothy ; 
Now the Spirit fpeaketh e>:pre/sl\ 3 that in the latter times 
fame /hall give heed to /educing fpiriis, and doctrines of devils j 

* Ifau ix. 6. Mic. v. 2. Dan. ix. jc — 27. Ifai. xlii. 2. xxxv. 5. 6. iiii. 

Pf. xvi. 10, 11. 

f Matt. xxiv. 1—35. Luke xxi, j Luke xxi. 24. 

§ 2 ThvL ii. 3, 4. 



Chap. I.] Fulfilment of Prophecy. 



119 



Speaking lies in hypccrify, having their confidences fieared ninth 
a hot iron ; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abfiain 
from meats which God hath created to be received with 
thankfgiving of them who believe and know the truth* 

A large proportion of the Apocalypfc of John refpefts 
this grand apoftafy, and the corrupt community in 
which it was accomplifhed. He defcribes it with great 
variety of exprefiion. On fome accounts it is repre- 
fented under the form of a city, on others of a beafi, and 
on others of a woman fitting upon a beafi. That we might 
be at no iofs to diftinguifh it on its appearance, it is in- 
timated that it fhould not be fo much a civil as an 
apoftate ecclefiaftical power : It is a harlot, oppofed to 
the bride the Lamb's wife : — that it fhould greatly a- 
bound in wealth, and worldly grandeur : The woman 
was arrayed in purple and fcarlei, and decked with gold, 
and precious fiones, and pearls : — -that its dominion fhould 
not be confined to its own immediate territories : Power 
was (riven it over all kingdoms, and tongues and nations: — 
that its authority Ihould not be derived from its own 
Cpnqusfts, but from the voluntary confent of a number 
of independent kingdoms to come under its yoke : 
The kings of the earth have one mind, and fioall give their 
power andfirength unto the beafi : — that it fhould be dif- 
tinguifhed by its blafphemies, idolatries, and perfect- 
ing fpirit : Upon her were the names of blafphemy. They 
Jhould make an image of the beafi-, and as many as would 
not worfhip the image of the beafi were to be killed. And 
the woman was drunk with the blood of the faints : — that its 
perfecutions fhould extend to fuch a length as for no 
man to be allowed the common rights of men, unlefs 
he become fubje& to it : No man might buy or fill,fave 
he that had the mark, or the name of the beafi, or the num- 
ber of his name : — that its power fhould continue for a 
time, times, and half a time, forty and two months, or one 
thoufand two hundred andfikty days ; during which long 
period God's witnefTes ihould prophefy in fackcloth, 
be driven as into a wiidernefs, and, as it were, flain, and 

* 1 Tim. iv, 1, a, 3, 



120 



Fulfilment of Prophecy, [Part IL 



their bodies lie unburied : — Finally, that they who gave 
it an exiftence fhould be the inftruments of taking it 
away : The kings, or powers, of the earth Jhall hate the 
whore, and burn her fie/h with fire.* Whether all, or 
any part of this be falfehood, let hiitory and obferva- 
tion determine. 

It has often been obferved that the prophecies of the 
Median were fo numerous and explicit, that at the time 
cf his appearance there was a general expectation of it, 
not only in Judea, but in all the neighbouring nations : 
and is not the fame thing obfervable at this time of the 
fall of Antichrift, the converfion of the jews, and the 
general fpread of the gofpel ? 

Once more — The facred writers have predicted the 
oppofition which Chriftianity fhould meet with, and 
defcribed the characters from whom it mould proceeds 
In the Irfl days, fay they, perilous times iviU come, for men 
/hall be lovers of their omm fives, covetous, boofiers, proud, 
blafphemers, dtfobedient to parents, unth-ankful, unholy, with-., 
out natural affection, truce-breakers, falfe accufers, inconti-,. 
neni, fierce, defpifers of thofe that are good, traitors, heady, 
high-minded, lovers of pleafures more than lovers of God. 
Again — There fihall be mockers in the lafi time, who fihall 
iualk after their ozvn ungodly lufis ; filthy dreamers, ivho. 
defile the fie/h, dtfpife dominion, and [peak evil of dignities ,-. 
raging waves cf the fia, foaming out their own Jhame * wan- 
dering fiars, to whom is refirved the blachiefs cf darknefs 
forever.f Let Mr. Paine, and other infidels, confider 
well the above picture, and aik their own confciences — 
Is this a falfehood ? 

Bifhop Newton, in his Dijprtaticns, has clearly evinc-. 
ed the fulfilment of feveral of thefe and other fcripture 
prophecies , and has fhewn that fome of them are ful- 
filling at this day. To thofe Difiertations I refer the 
reader. Enough has been find to enable us to deter- 
mine which production it is that deferves to be called 
" a book of falfehood," the prophecies of Scripture, ox 
the Age of Reafon. 

* Rev. xi. xiii and xvn Chapters, 
■j- 2 Tim, id. i — 4. Jucte. 



Ch Ap. II. 1 Correfpondence of Scripture and Truth 1 2 1 



CHAP. II. 

The harmony of Scripture with truths evinced from its 
agreement with the dictates of an enlightened confcience* 
and the refult of the clofej} obfervation. 

If a brazen mirror were found on fome remote unin- 
habited ifland, it might be a doubtful matter how it 
came thither *, but if it properly reflected objects, there 
could be no doubt of its being a real mirror. 

The Bible was written with the profeffed defign of 
being profitable for reproof; nor was there ever a book 
fo adapted to the purpcfe, or fo effectual in its opera- 
tion in difclofing the inward workings of the human 
mind. Thoufands can bear witnefs from experience 
that it is quick and powerful, /harper than any two-edged 
fwordy piercing even to the dividing af under of foul and 
fpirit) and a difcerner of the thoughts and intents of the 
heart. Its- entrance into the mind giverh light ; and 
light which difcovers the works of darknefs. Far from 
flattering the vices of mankind, it charges, without cer- 
emony, every fon of Adam with poffcffing the heart of 
an apoftate. This charge it brings home to the ccn- 
fcience, not only by its pure precepts, and awful 
threatenings, but oftentimes by the very invitations 
and promifes of mercy which, while they cheer the 
heart with lively hope, carry conviclion by their import 
to the very foul. In reading other books ydu may ad- 
mire the ingenuity of the writer; but here your atten- 
tion is turned inward. Read it but ferioufly, and your 
heart will anfwer to its defcriptions. It will touch the 
fecret fprings of fenfibility ; and if you have any ingen?- 
uoufnefs of mind towards God, the tears of grief, min- 
gled with thofe of hope and gratitude, will, ere you are 
aware, trickle from your eyes. 

Whatever particular vices you may have been ad- 
dicted to, here you will difcover your likenefs ; and 

L 2 



1 2 2 Correfpondence of Scripture and Truth, [Fart lT» 



that not as by a comic reprefentation on the theatre,^ 
which, where it reclaims one perfon by fhaming him 
out of his follies, corrupts a thoufand *, but in a way 
that will bring conviction to your bofom. 

Come fee a man that told me all things that ever I did ; 
is not this the Chrtfl P Such was the reafoning of the 
woman of Samaria *, and who could have reafoned bet- 
ter ? That which makes manifeft muft be light. But 
this reafoning is applicable to other things as well as 
the Mefiiahfhip of Jefus. No man can forbear faying 
of that book, that doctrine, or that preaching which 
tells him all things that ever he did, Is not this the 
truth ? The iatisfaction afforded by fuch evidence ap^ 
proaches near to intuitive certainty : It is having the 
witnefs in ourfelves. 

Should it be objected that though this may fatisfy 
our own minds, yet it can afford no evidence to others 
—I anfwer, It is true that they who £hun the light can- 
not be fuppofed to pofTefs that evidence of being what 
it is, as thofe who have come to it that their 
deeds may be made manifeil : yet even they, if at all 
acquainted with the Bible, mult be aware that the. 
Hkeneflcs which it draws are in a confiderable degree 
their own. It is net to ferrous Chriftians only that the 
gofpel is a mirror. Many who never look into that 
perfect law of liberty from choice and delight, fo as to 
be bielTed in their work, but only glance at it in a 
feranfient and occafipnal way, yet perceive fo much of 
their own character in it, as to be convinced that it is 
yjght, and that they are wrong. The fecret. conviction 
of thousands who hear the word, and do it not, refem- 
bies that of Phafafch, The Lard is right ecus ^ and I and. 
my people are ivjsfod. The imprefiions of fuch people, 
it is true, are frequently fhort in their duration : like a 
man who feeth his natural face in a glafs, they go 
away, and ftraightway forget what manner of perfons 
they are : but the averlion which they difcover to a 
ferious refumption of the fubject, places it beyond all 
reafonable doubt, that, let their hearts be as they may, 
the Scriptures have commended themfelves to thete 



Chap. II.] Covrefpondence of Scripture and Truth. i2f 



conferences. They have felt the point of this two- 
edged fword, and are not difpofed to renew the en- 
counter. That this is the cafe, not only with nominal 
Chriilians, but with great numbers of profeffrd deifts, 
is manifeft from the acknowledgments of fuch men as 
the Earl of Rocbe/ler, and many others who have re- 
lented on the near approach of death. This is often 
a time in which confeience mud and will be heard j 
and, too often for the liking of furviving acquaint- 
ances, it proclaims to the world, that the grand fource 
of their hatred to the Bible has been that for which 
Ahab hated Micaiah, its prophefying no good concern- 
ing them. 

The Scriptures are a mirror in which we fee not 
only individual characters, our own and others, but 
the ftate of things as they move on in the great world. 
They (hew us the fpring-head whence all the malig- 
nant dreams of idolatry, atheifm, corruption, perfec- 
tion, war, and every other evil originate \ and by 
{hewing us the origin of thefe deftructive maladies, 
clearly inftruc~l us wherein muft confifl their cure. 

It has already been cbferved* that Chriftian morali- 
ty is fummed up in the love of God and our neighbour^, 
and thefe principles, carried to their full extent, would 
render the world a paradife. But the Scriptures teach 
us that man is a rebel againft his Maker; that his car* 
nal mind is enmity againil God, and is not fubjeft to 
the law of God, neither indeed can be ; that inftead of 
loving God, or even man in the order which is requir- 
ed, men are become levers of their own fe/ves y and neith- 
er God nor man are regarded but as they are found 
secelTary to fubferve their wiihes. 

This iingle principle of human apoftafy, fuppofincr 
it to be true, will fully account for all the moral difor- 
ders in the world and the actual esiftence of thofe dif» 
orders, unlefs they can be better accounted for, muft 
go to prove the truth of this principle, and, by confe- 
quence, of the Chriftian fyilem which refts upon it. 



* Part L Chap. III. 



124 Correfpondence of Scripture an&Trtdh. [Part IL 

We are affected in confidering the idolatry of fo 
great a part of the human race ; but we are not fur- 
prifed at it. If men be deftitute of the love of God, it 
is natural to fuppofe they will endeavour to banifh him 
from their thoughts, and, provided the ftate of fociety 
will admit of it, from their worlhip ; fubflituting god^ 
more congenial with their inclinations, and in the wor- 
fbip of which they can indulge themfelves without fear 
or control. 

Neither are we furprifed at the pra&ical atheifm which 
abounds among unbelievers, and even among nominal 
Chriftians, in European nations. If the ftate of things 
be fuch that grofs idolatry is inadrniflible, ftill, if a- 
verfion to God predominate, it will (hew itfelf in a neg- 
lect of all worfhip, and of all ferious converfation, or 
devout exercifes *, in a wifh to think there is no God* 
and no hereafter ; and in endeavours to banifh every 
thing of a religious nature from fociety. Or, if this 
cannot be, and any thing relating to fuch fubjects be- 
come matter of difcuffion, they will be fo explained 
away as that nothing fhall be left which can approve it- 
felf to an upright heart. The holinefs of the divine 
character will be kept out of fight, his precepts difre- 
garded, and morality itfelf made to con fi ft in fomething; 
deftitute of all true virtue. 

We are not furprifed at the corruptions which Chris- 
tianity has undergone. Chriftianity itfelf, as we have 
already feen, foretold it, and the doctrine of human- 
depravity fully accounts for it.. When the Chriftian 
religion was adopted by the ftate, it is natural to fup- 
pofe there would be great numbers of unprincipled; 
men who would profefs it ; and where its leading 
characters in any age are of this defcription, it will 
certainly be corrupted. The pure doctrine of Chrift 
is given up in favour of iome fiefh-pleafing fyftem, the 
holy precepts of Chriftian morality are lowered to the 
itandard of ordinary practice, and the worlhip and 
ordinances of Chrift mingled with fuperftition, and 
modelled to a worldly temper. It was thus that v 
Judaifm was corrupted by the old Pharifees, and 
Christianity by the papal hierarchy. 



Chap. II.] Correfpondence of Scripture and Truth. 125 



The fuccefs which evil men and feducers meet with, 
in propagating falfe doctrine, is no more than may 
be expected from the prefent (late of things. So long 
as a large proportion of the profeflbrs of Chriftianity 
receive not the love of the truth, error will be certain 
to meet with a welcome reception. The grofleft im- 
poftor has only to advance a fyftem fuited to corrupt 
nature, to aflert it with effrontery, and to flatter his 
adherents with being the favourites of Heaven, and he 
will be followed.* 

The perfections which have been carried on againft 
religion are grievous to humanity, and equally repug- 
nant to juftice and to good policy : but they are not 
in the leaft furprifing. There was not a truth more 
prominent in our Saviour*s addreffes to his followers 
than this, that having received his word, the world would 
hate them ! becaufe they were not of the world, as he was- 
not of the world. When he fent them forth to preach 
the gofpel, it was as fheep among wolves ; and they were 
treated accordingly. When he took leave of them 
previous to his death, he left them his peace, as know- 
ing that in the world they fhould have tribulation. 
All this was no more than might be expected : for if 
it be the character of true religion that it fets itfelf 
againft every vicious propenfity of the human heart, it 
is natural to fuppofe that every one who is under the 
dominion of fuch propensity will feel averfe to true 
religion, and to thofe who adhere to it. The manner 

* Men are much more eafily deceived in thefe matters, than in 
the ordinary concerns of life. If a London merchant were to open 
a warehoufe in different parts of the city, and make it his buiinefs 
to traduce the characters and commodities of all other merchants; 
if his oppofition were directed efpecialiy againft men of probity and 
eminence, whofe fituations were contiguous to his own ; in fine, if the 
only traders in the kingdom who could obtain his good word we r e 
certain agents whom he had Rationed in different parts of the country 
for the purpofe of retailing his wares, would not his defigns be evi- 
dent ? He might puff, and pretend to have the good of the public 
much at heart ; but the public would defpife him as a man whofe 
object was a fortune, and whofe practices evinced that he would 
helitate at no means to accompli fh his end. Yet fuch deceptions 
TAay be prattifed in religion with fuccefs, 



1 26 Correfpondev.ee of Scripture and Truth, [Part IL, 



in which mankind have flood affected towards godly 
men has been nearly uniform from the beginning. 
Cain flew his brother : and wherefore flew he him ? 
becaufe his own works were evil, and his brother's 
righteous. Sarah faw the fon of Hagar the Egyptian, 
mocking : as then he that was born after the flefh 
perfecuted him that was born after the fpirit, even fo 
it is now. Why was Jerufalem a burdenfome (tone 
to the nations ? Why were they continually forming 
leagues to root out its remembrance from the earth I 
The fame fpirit that was discovered by Edom, Moab, 
and the chiidrem of Ammon towards lirael, was ap- 
parent in Sanhallat, Tobiah, Gefhem, and their com- 
panions, towards Judah \ and the part acted by the 
Honorite, the Ammonite, and the Arabian, was after- 
wards re-a£ted with additional zeal by Herod and Pon- 
tius Pilate, and the governors and people of lirael. 
Thofe who could agree in nothing elfe could agree in 
this. The perfecutions of Pagan and Papal Rome, 
and of all who have fymbolized with her, have been 
only a continuation of the fame fyftem ; and the de- 
scriptions which deiftkal hiftcrians give of thefe works- 
of darknefs, notwithftanding their pretended regard toj 
religious liberty, bear witneis that they allow the deeds- 
of their fathers, and inherit their difpofitions. The 
fame malignant fpirit which was difcovered by the 
heathens towards the ancient Ifraelites, is discovera- 
ble in ail the writings of unbelievers towards that peo- 
ple to this day. It is true they are more reconciled to. 
the modern Jews ; and for a very plain reafon : they 
feel them to be near akin to themfelves. Herod and 
Pilate were made friends by the crucifixion of Chrift. 
Since that time the old enmity has been transferred 
to believing Gentiles, who being grafted into the Jewiih 
olive, and partaking of its advantages, partake alfo of 
its perfecutions : and by how much the Christian 
church at any period has exceeded the Jewifh in puri* 
ty and fpirituality, by fo much more fierce has the 
wrath of a wicked world burned againfl it. 



Chap. II.] Correfpondcnce of Scripture and Truth. 127 



After all the pains which unbelievers take to fhift 
the charge of perfecution, and to lay it at the door of 
Chriftianity, it is manifeft to an obfervant eye that 
there is a deep-rooted enmity in all wicke*d men, 
whether they be pagans, papifts, proteftants, or deifte, 
towards all godly men, of every nation, name, and de- 
nomination. This enmity, it is true, is not fuffered 
to operate according to its native tendency. He who 
holdeth the winds in his hand, retrains it. Men are 
Withheld by laws, by policy, by interefts, by education, 
by refpecl, by regard founded on other than religious 
qualities, and by various other things. There are cer- 
tain conjunctions of interelfs, efpecially, which occa- 
sionally require a temporary ceffation of hoftiiities *, and 
it may feem, on fuch occafions, as if wicked men were 
afhamed of their animofities, and were, all on a fudden, 
.become friendly to the followers of Chrift. Thus, at 
the revolution in 1688, thofe who, for more than 
twenty years, had treated the non-conformifts with 
unrelenting feverity, when they found themfelves in 
danger of being deprived of their places by a popilli 
prince, courted their friendfhip, and promifed not to 
perfecute them any more. And thus, at the com- 
mencement of the French revolution, deifts, catholics, 
and proteftants, who were engaged in one political 
caufe, feemed to have 'forgotten their refentments, all 
amicably uniting together in the opening of a place for 
proteitant wcifhip. But let not the fervants of Chrift 
imagine that any temporary conjunction of interefts 
will extinguim the ancient enmity. It may feem to be 
fo for a time ; and all things being under the control 
of Providence, fuch a time may be defigned as a fea- 
fon of reipire for the faithful : but when felf-intereft 
hath gained its end, if other worldly confederations do 
not interpofe, things will return to their former chan- 
nel. The enmity is not dead, but fleepeth. 

Finally — The wars which from the earlied: period of 
hiftory have defolated the earth, grievous as they are 
to a feeling mind, contain in them nothing furprifing. 
The Scriptures, with lingular propriety, defcribe the 



1 2 8 Correfpondence of Scripture and Truth. [Part IL 

world as a great fea, which is ever cafting up its mire 
and dirt ; and great conquerors as fo many ivild heaps, 
which, in fucceflion, rife from its troubled waters, and 
devour the inhabitants of the earth.* Nor is this all : 
they defcribe not only the fa£t, but the caufe of it. 
Wars among men, as hath been already ftated,f have 
their immediate caufes in the lufils which war in their mem- 
bers : but befides this, the Scripture leads us to a caufe 
more remote, and of ftill greater importance. They 
denominate the fword of war, the [word of the Lord, 
and conftantly intimate that it is one of thofe means 
by which he pleadeth with allfiefh. A part of the curfe 
entailed on men, for their departure from the living 
God, confifts in this, that, till they return to him, they 
{hall not be able, for any length of time, to maintain 
amity among themfelves. It appears to be one of thofe 
laws by which God governs the world, that people 

ENGAGED IN AN EVIL CAUSE, HOWEVER HARMONIOUS 
THEY MAY BE IN THE OUTSET, SHALL PRESENTLY BE 

at variance. Thus it was between Abimelech and 
the men of Shechem, as Jotham had forwarned them 
in his parable. Though at firft they appeared to rejoice 
in each other, yet in a little time fire came out from 
Abimelech and devoured the men of Shechem y and fire came 
out from the men of Skechem, and devoured Abimelech.± 
Such is commonly the ifiue of all unprincipled confed- 
eracies, traitorous conspiracies, illegal combinations* 
and illicit amours. Union, in order to be lafting, re- 
quires to be cemented with honour. Where this is 
wanting, however appearances may, for a while, be 
flattering, all wiil prove tranfitory : mutual jealoufies 
will produce mutual enmities, which are certain to if- 
fue in confufion and every evil work. Thefe remarks 
are no lefs applicable to the whole human race, than to 
particular parts of it. Men have revolted from God ; 
and yet think to live in harmony amongft themfelves. 
God, in juft judgment, appears to have determined the 
contrary j and that till they return to him, they fhall 



* Dan. Til. | Part I. Chap. VII, f Judges is. 



Chap. IL] Correfpondetice of Scripture and Truth. 1 29 

be given up to an evil fpirit towards each other, and 
to the ravages of a fucceffion of ambitious leaders, 
who fhall deftroy them, in great numbers, from the 
face of the earth. It is morally impoffible, indeed, 
that it mould be otherwife : for the fame principle 
which induces them to renounce the divine govern- 
ment, ditfblves the bands of human fociety. Supreme 
felf-love is the origin of both, and is fufficient to ac- 
count for all the diforder in the univerfe. 

Candid reader, review the fubjecl: of this chapter. 
In the laft we traced the agreement of the Holy Scrip- 
tures with hiitoric facl 5 in this we have feen their 
correfpondence with living truth, or with things as they 
wBually exifk in the mind and in the wer/d. Similar ar- 
guments might alfo have been drawn from the charac- 
ters of believers and unbelievers. Not many wife, not 
-many mighty, not many noble were called in the early 
ages of Chriitianity ; and it has been the fame in every 
age. To the Jews the gofpel was, from the firft, a 
Humbling- block, and to philosophers foolifhnefs ; and 
fuch it continues to this day. The exigence of the 
Jews, as a diftinct people ; their difperfion ; their at- 
tachment to the Old Teftament, and rejection of the 
New j their expectation of a Mefliah •, their acknowl- 
edgment of the truth of the hiftorical facts concern- 
ing our Lord ; the malignity of their fpirit ; in a word, 
their exacl: refemblance, even at this remote period, to 
the picture drawn of them in the New Teftament, are 
fa£fcs which cannot be controverted. Judge impartial- 
ly : Is there any thing in all this that bears the marks 
of impofture ? A connoiffeur will dntmguifh between 
paintings taken from life, and fuch as are the mere 
work of imagination. An accurate judge of moral 
painting will do the fame. If the Scriptures give falfe 
defcriptions of men and things ; if they flattered the 
Vices of mankind, or exhibited the moral Itate of the 
world contrary to well-known fact, you will conclude 
them to be a work of falfehood. On the other hand, 
if they fpeak of things as they are ; if confcience echo 
to their charges, and facl comport with their reprefen* 
M 



I Jo The Spirit and Style of Scripture. [Part II. 



tations, they muft have been taken from life ; and vou 
muft conclude them to be, what they profefs to be, a 
work of truth. And fince the objects defcribed are 
many of them beyond the ken of human obfervation, 
you muft conclude that they are not only a work of 
truth, but, what they alfo profefs to be, the true fay* 
ings '(f God. 



CHAP. III. 

The harmony of Scripture with its own profeffibns, argued 
from thejpirit and flyle in which it is written. 

If the Scriptures be what they profefs to be, the word 
of God, it may be prefumed that the fpirit which they 
breathe, and even the ftyle in which they are compos- 
ed, will be different from what are found in any other 
productions. It is true, that, having been communi- 
cated through human mediums, we may expect them 
in a meafure to be humanized ; the peculiar turn and 
talents of each writer will be vifible, and this will give 
them the character of variety ; but amid ft all this vari- 
ety, a mind capable of difcerning the divine excellence 
will plainly perceive in them the ringer of God. 

With refpect to flyle, though it is not on the natural, 
but the moral, or rather the holy beauties of Scripture 
that I would lay the principal ftrefs ; yet fomething 
may be obferved of the other. So far as the beauty 
of language confifts in its freedom from affectation^ 
and in its conformity to the nature of the fubject, it 
may be expected that a book written by holy men, in- 
fpired by God, will be poffefled of this excellence. A 
divinely infpired production will not only be free from 
fuch blemifties as arife from vanity, and other evil dif- 
pofitions of the mind, but will abound in thofe beau- 
ties which never fail to attend the genuine exercifes of 
modefty, fenfibility, and godly (implicit/. It will re* 



CHAP. III.] The Spirit and Style of Scripture. 13 1 

jecl: the meretricious ornaments of art : but it will 
poflefs the more fubftantial beauties of nature. That 
this is true of the Scriptures has been proved by fev- 
eral able writers. * 

Mr. Paine, however, can fee nothing great, majeftic, 
or worthy of God, in any part of the Bible. Among 
the numerous terms of reproach with which he hon- 
ours it, he is pleafed to cenfure the writings of Ifaiah 
as " bombaft., beneath the genius of a fchool-boy 
and to compare the command of the great Creator, in 
the firft chapter of Genefis, Let there be light, to the 
" imperative manner of fpeaking ufed by a conjuror."f 
This writer has given us no example of the bombaft 
from Ifaiah. Bombaft is that fpecies of writing in 
which great fweliing words are ufed to convey little 
ideas. But is it thus in the writings of,Ifaiah ? — And 
one cried to another, faying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of 
hofls : the whole earth is full of his glory. Who hath meaf 
ured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out 
heaven with a fpan, and comprehended the drift of the earth 
in a me.fure, and weighed the mountains in fcales, and the 
hills v;'» a balance P Who hath direcled the Spirit of the Lord 9 
or, being his counfellor, hath taught him P With whom took' 
he counfel, and who itiftrutled him, and taught him in the 
path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and fkewed 
to him the way of under/landing P Behold, the nations 
are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the [mall dufl 
of the balance : behold, he taketh up the ijles as a very little 
thing. And Lebanon is not fuffcient to burn, nor the beafls 
thereof fufficient for a burnt-offering. All nations before 
him are as nothing < and they are counted to him lefs than 
nothing and vanity. Are the ideas too little in thefe in- 
ftances for the words ? The prophets wrote in a poetic 
ftyle ; and how could they write otherwife ? Poetry is 
the language of paffion ; and fuch as theit's, of paffion 
raifed and inflamed by great and affe&ing objects. 

_ * See Blackmail's Sacred Claffics : Melmoth's Sublime and Beau- 
tiful of Scripture : to which is added Dwight's Difiertation on the 
Poetry, Hiftory, and Eloquence of the Bible. 

f Age of Reafon, Part II. p, ioj, Nete, 



i ; z The Spirit and Style cf Scripture. [Part IL 



Their language is not that of common poetry, but, as 
an elegant writer expreffes it, " It is the burft Of in- 
" fpiration." 

As to the objection againft the fublimity of the paf- 
fage in the firft chapter of Genefis, it is fufficient to 
obferve, that there is nothing, be it ever fo majeftic, 
and worthy of God, but a profane and ludicrous im- 
agination may diftort it. A rainbow may be compared 
to a riddle-flick : but it does not follow that it is an 
object of equal infignificance. Thunder and lightning 
may be imitated by a character not lefs contemptible 
than a conjuror : but fhould any one infer that there 
is nothing more grand, more awful, or more worthy 
of God, in thefe difplays of nature, than in the exhi- 
bitions of a country (how, he would prove himfeJf to 
be poffeffed of but a fmall portion of either wit or 
good fenfe. 

I do not pretend to any great judgment in the beau- 
ties of compofition : but there are perfons of far fuperi- 
or judgment to this writer, who have expreffed them-, 
felves in a very different language. The late Sir Wil- 
liam Jones, who, for learning and tafte, as well as. 
character, has left but few equals, thus expreffes him-, 
felf : " I have regularly and attentively read thefe Holy 
" Scriptures, and am cf opinion that this Volume, in-. 
" dependent of its divine origin, contains more fublimi- 
« ty and beauty, more pure morality, more important 
si hiftory, and finer drains of poetry and eloquence, than 
" can be collected from all other books, in whatever 
" age or language they may have been compofed." 

'£ he acknowledgments of Rouffeau, likewife, whofe 
tafte for fine writing, and whofe freedom from preju- 
dice in favour of Chriftianity, none will call in queftion, 
will ferve to confront the afiertions of Mr. Paine. Af- 
ter declaring that as there were fome proofs in favour 
of Revelation which he could not invalidate, fo there 
were many objections againft it which he could not re- 
folve ; that he neither admitted, nor rejected it ; and 
that he rejected only the obligation of fubmitting to it ; 
he goes on to acknowledge as follows : *' I will confef? 
« to you farther, that the majefty of the Scripture firrkes 



CltlAP. III.] The Spirit and Style of Scripture. 133 



« me with admiration, as the purity of the gofpel has 
« its influence on my heart, Perufe the works of our ' 
" philofophers, with all their pomp of di&ion ; how 
« mean, how contemptible, are they, compared with 
" the Scripture ! Is it poffible that a book, at once fo 
« fimple and fublime, Ihould be merely the work cf 
U man ? Is it poffible that the facred perfonage, whofe 
" hiftory it contains, ihould be himfelf a mere man ? 
" Do we find that he affumed the air of an enthufiaft 
" or ambitious fectary ? What fweetnefs, what purity 
« in his manners ! What an affecHng gracefulnefs in 
« his delivery ! What fublimity in his maxims ! What 
" profound wifdom in his difcourfes ! What prefence 
" of mind ! What fubtilty ! What truth in his replies ! 
U How great the command over his paffions ! Where 
" is the man, where the philofopher, who could 
** fo live and die, without weaknefs, and without often- 
« tation ? Shall we fuppofe the Evangelic Hiftory a 
" mere fiction ? Indeed, my friend, it bears not the 
" marks of fiction. On the contrary, the hiftory of 
" Socrates, which nobody prefumes to doubt, is not fo 
" well attefted as that of jefus Chrift. The Jewifti 
" authors were incapable of the diction and ftrangers 
" to the morality contained in the gofpels ; the marks 
«< of whofe truth are fo ftriking and invincible, that 
" the inventor would be a more aftoniftiing character 
« than the hero."* 

Rouffeau's praifes of the Scriptures remind us of the 
high encomiums bellowed by Balaam on the Taberna- 
cles of IfraeL It is no unufual thing for men to ad- - 
mire that which they do not love. 

Let us examine a little more minutely the fpirit in 
which the Scriptures are written. It is this which 
conftitutes their holy beauty, that dininguifhes thern 
from all other writings, and that affords the ftrongeft 
evidence of their being written by infpiration of God. 

In recording hiltorical events the facred writers in- 
variably eye the hand of God ; in fome inftances they 
M 2 

* Works, Vol. V. p. a 15— ai8> 



134 ^he Spirit and Style of Scripture, [Part ff» 



entirely overlook fecond caufes \ and in others, where 
they are mentioned, it is only as inftruments, fulfilling 
the divine will. Events that came to pafs according 
to. the ufual courfe of things, and in which an ordinary 
hiiiorian would have feen nothing divine, are recorded 
by them amongil the works of the Lord. The Lord 
was very angry with Ifrael, and removed them out of his* 
fight. And the Lord fent againjl Jehoiahm bands of the 
Chaldees, and bands of the Syrians, and bands of the Moab~ 
ites, and bands of the children cf Amman y and fent them ■ 
agairft Judah to defray it, according to the word of the 
Lord which he- f pake by his fervants the prophets. Surely 
at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to 
remove them out of his fight, for the fins of Alanajph, ac- 
cording to all thai he did, and alfo for the innocent blood 
that he Jhed ;■■ for he filled Jerufalem with innocent blood- 
which the Lord, would not pardon.* 

In their prophecies ^while they foretold the heavieft' 
calamities upon nations, their own and others, and- 
viewing the hand of God in all, acquiefced in them, 
as men they felt tenderly for their fellow-creatures, 
even for their enemies. My bowels, my bowels! lam* 
pained at my very heart ; my heart makgth a noife in me : 
1 cannot hold my peace, becaufe thou hajl heard, O my fou/ f . 
the found of the trumpet, the alarm of war, O thou fword: 
af the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet ? Put up: 
thyfelf into thy fcabbard, reft, and be JlilL \ When Ifrael 
was expofed to calamities, all the neighbouring natrons, 
who hated them on account of their religion, exulted 
over them : but when the cup went round to them, 
the prophets who foretold it were tenderly a fFecled by 
it. / will bewail with the weeping cf Jazer the vine of 
Sibmah : I will water thee with my tears, He/hbon, and 
Elealeh ; for the fiouting for thy jummer-fruits, and for 
thy harvefl, is fallen. And gladnefs is taken away, and 
joy out of*<the plentiful field ; and hi the vineyards there \ 
[hall be no finging, neither Jhall there be flouting ; tin 
ireaders flail tread out no wine in their prejfes ; I have. 



* a KiflgSjXvii, iS. ssiv, a, 3> 4, 



f Jer. iv, 19. xlvii. 6, 



Chap. Ut "] ^he Spirit and Style of Scripture. I 



madefhouting to ceafe, wherefore my bowels /hall found like 
an harp for Moab, and mine inward parts for Kir-harefh.* 

The miracles which they record ars diftinguifhed 
from the figns and lying wonders of following ages, 
in that there is always to be feen in them an end wor- 
thy of God, The far greater part of them were works 
of pure compaflion to the parties -, and the whole of 
them of benevolence to fociety. 

There is nothing in the Scriptures adapted to grat- 
ify prefumptuous fpeculatisn or idle curioftiy. Such a 
fpirit, on the contrary, is frequently checked, and ev- 
ery thing is directed to the renovation or improvement 
of the heart. The account given of the creation of 
the fun, moon, and ftars, is not intended, as Mr. Hen- 
ry obferves, to defcrihe things " as they are in them- 
** felves, and in their own nature, to fatisfy the curi- 
" cus *, but as they are in relation to this earth, to • 
« which they ferve as lights ; and this is enough to fur- 
s' nifh us with matter for praife and thankfgivmg. ,? 
The miracles of Jems were never performed to gratify 
curiofity. If the afflicted, or any on their behalf, pre- 
fent their petition, it is invariably heard and anfwered : 
but if the pharifees come and fay* Mafler, we would 
fee a fign from thee ; or if Herod hope to fee a miracle 
done by him, it is refufed.f When one faid to him 3 
JLord, are there few that be faved P he anfwered, Strive 
to enter in at the fir ait gate : for many, I fay unto you-, will- 
feek to enter in, and Jhall not be able.% 

There is nothing in the Scriptures tending, in its 
own nature, to excite levity ox folly. They fometimes 
deal in the moft cutting irony ; but it is never for the 
fake of difplaying wit, or raifing a laugh, but invaria- 
bly for the accompliminent of a ferious and important : 
end. A ferious mind finds every tiling to gratify it 5 , 
and nothing to offend it : and even the moft profligate 
character, unlefs he read them in fearch of fomething 
which he. may convert into ridicule, is impreued with 

* Ifai. xvi. 9, ic,.ii. f Matt. xii. 38. Luke, xxiii. 8, 9. 

\ Luke, xiii. 54. See alio xxi. 5— 19. 



f 3# The Spirit and Style of Scripture. [Part IL 



awe by the pointed and folernn manner in which they 
addrefs him. 

It may be faid cf the Scriptures, and of them only, 
that they are free from affectation and vanity. You may 
fometimes find things of this fort defcribed by the fa- 
cred writers \ but you will never difcern any fuch 
fpirit in the descriptions themfelves. Yet were they,, 
as men, fubject to human imperfections 5 if, therefore, 
they had not been influenced by divine infpiration, 
blemifhes of this kind muft have appeared in their 
writings, as weih as in thofe of other men. But in 
what inftanee have they affurned a character which 
does not belong to them ; or difcovered a wifh to be 
thought more religious, more learned, or more accom- 
plifhed in any way than they were ? Nor were they 
lefs free from vanity than from affectation. They 
were as far from making the moft of what they were, 
as from aiming to appear what they were not. In- 
(lead of trumpeting their own praife, or aiming to 
tranfmit their fame to pofterity, feveral of, them have 
not fo much as put their names to their writings and 
thofe who have, are generally out of fight. As you 
read their hiftory, they feldom occur to your thoughts. 
Who thinks of the Evangelifts when reading the four 
gofpels ; or of Luke while reading the Acls of the 4pof 
ties ? Mr. Paine weaves the laurel on his own brows„ 
vainly boafting that he has M written a book under the: 
" greater!: difadvantages, which no Bible believer can 
t: anfwer;" and that with his axe upon his fhouider,, 
like another Sennacherib, he has palled through, and 
cut down the tall cedars of our Lebanon.* But thus 
did not the facred writers, even with regard to hea- 
thenifm, becaufe of the fear of God. - Paul, in one 
inftanee, for the fake of anfwering an important end, 
was compelled to fpeak the truth of himfelf, and to 
appear to boaft ; yet it is eafy to perceive how much 
it was againft his inclination. A boafter and a fed 
were, in his account, fynonimous terms.f 



* Age of Reafon, Part II, Pref. p. vi, and p. 64, fa Cor, zlL 



Chap. III.] The Spirit and Style of Scripture. 1^7 



The facred writers, while they refpeft magiftracy, 
and frown upon faction, tumult, and feclition, are 
never known to flatter the great. Compare the fuftian 
eloquence of Tertuilus with the manly fpeeches of 
Paul. Did he flatter Felix ? No ', he reafined of right- 
eoufnefs, temperance, and judgment to come, and Felix trem- 
bled. Did he flatter Fed us or even Agrippa ? No ; 
the higheft compliment which proceeded from him 
was, that&? knew the latter to be expert in all cujloms and 
quejliom among the Jews, and to maintain the divine in- 
spiration of the prophets ; which declaration, with the 
whole of this admirable apology, contained only the 
words of truth and fobernefs. 

They difcover no anxiety to guard again/1 Jeeming in* 
confylencies) either with themfejves or one another. In 
works of impofture, efpecially where a number of per- 
fons are concerned, there is need of great care and cau-» 
tion, left one part Ihould contradict another ; and fuch 
caution is eafily perceived. But the facred writers ap« 
pear to have had no fuch concern about them. Con- 
fcious that all they wrote was true, they left it to prove- 
its own confiftency. Their productions poflefs con- 
fiftency ; but it is not a ftudied one, nor always appar^ 
ent at firft fight : it is that confiftency which is certain^ 
to accompany truth.* 

* " There is one argument," fays Mr. Wilberforce, in his late ex-- 
cellent Treatife, " which imprefles my mind with particular force. 
" This is, the great variety of the kinds of evidence which have 
" been adduced in proof of Chriftianity, and the confirmation. 
H thereby afforded 01 its truth : — the proof from prophecy ; from 
" miracles ; from the character of Chrifl; from that of his apoftles ; 
«' from the nature of the doctrines of Chriftianity ; from the nature 
** and excellency of her practical precepts ; from the accordance 
*' we have lately pointed out between the doctrinal and practical 
" fyftem of Chriftianity, whether confidered each in it ft if, or in. 
" their mutual relation to each other ; from other fpecies of inter* 
" nal evidence, afforded in the more abundance as the facred rfec- 
w ords have been fcrutinized with greater care ; fro.n the accounts 
" of cotemporary, or nearly cotemporary writers ; from the impof- 
" fibility of accounting on any other fuppoikion than that of the 
«« truth of Chriftianity for its promulgation and early prevalence ; 
" thefe and other lines of argument have all been brought forward, 
« 5 aud urged by different writers, in proportion as they have ftruck 



138 The Spirit and Style of Scripture. [Part IF* 



There is an inimitable fimplicity in all their writings,, 
and a feeling fenfe of nvhat they write. They come to 
the point without ceremony, or preamble ; and having 
told the truth, leave it without mingling their own re- 
flections. This remark is particularly exemplified by 
the four Evangelifts in narrating the treatment of their 
Lord. Writers who had felt lefs, would have faid 
more. 

There is fomething in all they fay which leaves be- 
hind it a fenfation produced by no other writings ; 
fomething peculiarly fuited to the mind when in its 
mod ferious frames, opprefTed by affliction, or thought- 
ful about a future life ; fomething which gives melan- 
choly itfelf a charm, and produces tears more delicious 
to the mind than the moft high-ttavoured earthly enjoy- 
ments. By what name fhali I exprefs it ? It is a favour 
cf life, a favour of God, an unclionfrom the Holy One. 

Mr. Paine can fee no beauty in the New Teftament 
narratives 5 to him ther-e appears nothing but impofure,, 
folly, contradiction, falfehocd, and every tiling that marks 
an evil caufe. And I fuppofe he could fay the fame of 
the things narrated ; of the labours, tears,, temptations, 
and fufferings of the Lord Jefus, and of every thing 
elfe in the New Teftament. Mr. Paine, however, is 
not the only inftance wherein men have lacked under-- 
ftanding. The Jews faw no beauty in the Saviour 
that they fhould defire him : and there are perfons who 
can fee no beauty in any of the works of God. Crea-- 

u the minds of different obfervers more or lefs forcibly. Now grant =■- 
"ingthat fome obfcure and illiterate men, rtfidirrg in a diftant' 
" province of the Roman empire, had plotted to impofe a forgery 
" upon the world ; though fome foundation for the impofbre might, • 
" and indeed muft, have been attempted to be laid ; it feems, at 
H leaft to my under fb.nding, morally impoffble that fo many fpecies 
"'of proof, and all fo ftrong, fhould have lent their concurrent aid, 
" and have united their joint force in the eftabliihmentcf the falfe- 
" hood. It may aflift the reader in eftimating the value of this ar- 
u gument, to confider upon how different a footing, in this refpeclr, ■ 
" has refted every other religious fyfrem, -without exception, which 
!i was ever propofed to the world ; and indeed every other hiftor- 
Sl icai fact, of which the truth has been at all come^ed.'' 

Freflisal VUxv, p. 301—368, 3d. e<L 



Chap. III.] The Spirit and Style of Scripture. 139 

tion is to them a blank. But though the eyes of a fool 
are at the ends of the earthy for want of obje&s to attract 
them, yet nuifdom is before him that underflandeth. % If 
Mr. Paine can fee no beauty in the facred pages, it does 
not follow that there is no beauty to be feen. Let any 
perfon of candour and difcernment read over the four 
Evangelifts, and judge whether they bear the marks of 
impofture. If he have any difficulty, it will be in pre- 
ferving the character of a critic. Unlefs he be perpet- 
ually on his guard, he will infenfibly lofe fight of 
the writers, and be all enamoured of the great object 
concerning which they write. In reading the nine laft 
chapters of John, he will perceive the writer to be deep- 
ly affected. Though a long time had elapfed fince the 
events had taken place, and he was far advanced in 
years ; yet his heart was manifeftly overwhelmed with 
his fubject. There is reafon to think that the things 
which Mr. Paine attempts to ridicule, drew tears from 
his eyes while he narrated them ; as an ingenious mind 
will find it difficult to review the narrative without 
fimilar fenfations. 

Mr. Paine is pleafed to fay, " Any perfon that could 
" read and write, might have written fuch a book as 
i( the Bible :" but nothing can be farther from the 
truth. It were faying but little, to affirm that he could 
not produce a {ingle page or fentence that would have 
a fimilar effect. Stranger, as he has proved himfelf to 
;be, to the love of God and righteoufnefs, he could not 
communicate what he does not feel. The croaking 
raven might as well endeavour to imitate the voice of 
the dove, or the fong of the nightingale, as he attempt 
to emulate the Holy Scriptures. Mr. Paine's fpirit is 
fufficiemly apparent in his page, and that of the facred 
writers in theirs. So far from writing as they wrote> 
'fee cannot underftand their writings. That which the 
Scriptures teach on this fubject is fufficiently verified 
in him, and all others of his fpirit : The natural man re* 
teiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, wider can he 



* Prov. xvii. 24. 



140 The Spirit and Style of Scripture. [Part II, 



inow them, for they are fpiritually difcerned. As eafily 
might the lovelinefs of chaftity be perceived, or the 
pleafures of a good confcience appreciated by a de- 
bauchee, as the things of God be received by"a mind 
like that of Mr. Paine. 

Finally — If the Bible be the word of God, it may be 
expected that fuch an authority,, and divine fanclion Jhould 
accompany it ) that while a candid mind (hall prefently 
perceive its evidence, thofe who read it either with 
negligence or prejudice, {hall only be confirmed in 
their unbelief. It is fit that God's word mould not 
be trifled with. When the Pharifees captioufly de- 
manded a fign, or miracle, they were fent away with- 
out one. They might go, if they pleafed, and report 
the inability of Jefus to work a miracle. The evidence 
attending the refurrettion of Chrift is of this descrip- 
tion. He had exhibited proofs enough of his divine 
rniifion pubfickly, and before the eyes of all men •, but 
feeing they were cbftinateiy rejected, he told his ene- 
mies that they mould fee him no more till he mould 
come on a different occafion : # and they faw him no 
more. They might infift, if they pleafed, that the 
teftimony of his difciples, who witnefled his refurrec^- 
tion, was infufficient. It is thus that herefies, offences, 
and fcandals are permitted in the Chriftian church, 
that they who ?re approved may be made manifeft; 
snd that occafion may be furniflied for them who feek 
occafion to reproach religion, and perfift in their un- 
belief. If men choofe delufion, God alfo will choofe 
to give them up lo it. The f corner Jhall feek tuifdom, and 
fnall not fi?id it ; and the word of life {hall be a favour 
of death unto death to them that per'fh. Mr. Paine, when 
he wrote the Fir ft Part of his Age of Reafon } was with- 
out a Bible. Afterwards, he tells us, he procured one ; 
or to ufe his own fchool-boy language, " a Bible and 
" a Teftament ; and I have found them," he adds, 
" to be much worfe books than I had conceived."! 
in all this there is nothing furprifing. On the con- 



! Matt, zxul 3p, f Age of Reafou, Part H Pref, p. xii, 



CHAP. IV.] The Mediation of Chrift, &c. 141 



trary, if fuch a fcorner had found wifdom, the Scrip- 
tures themfelves had not been fulfilled.* 

If an infolent coxcomb had been cf opinion that Sir 
Ifaac Newton was a mere ignoramus in philofophy, 
and had gone into his company that he might cate- 
chife, and afterwards, as occafion fhould offer, expofe 
him ; it is not unlikely that this great writer, perceiv- 
ing his arrogance, would have futrered him to depart 
•without anfwering his queftions, even though he might 
know at the time that his unfavourable opinion of him 
would thereby be the more confirmed. Let us but 
come to the Scriptures in a proper fpirit, and we {hall 
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God : but if 
"we approach them in a cavilling humour, we may ex- 
-pecl not only to remain in ignorance, but to be hard» 
<ened more and more in unbelief. 



CHAP. IV. 

*The corfijlency of the Chrlflian doctrine , particularly that of 
falvation through a Mediatory with fiber Reafon, 

If there be a God who created us ; if we have all 
Finned againft him \ and if there be reafon to believe 
that he will call us to account for our conduct, all 
which principles are admitted by Mr. Paine -,f a gloomy 
profpeft mult needs prefent itfelf, fufEcient indeed 
to render man " the flave of terror." It is not in the 
power of this writer, nor cf any man living, who re- 
jects the Bible, to allure us that pardon will have any 
place in the divine government 5 and however light he 
may make of the Scripture doctrine of hell, he that 
calls men to account for their deeds will be at no lofs 
how or where to punilh them. But allowing that God 
is difpofed to (hew mercy to the guilty, the queftion 

* Prov. xiv, 6. f Age of Reafon, Part I. p, 1. Part II, p, ioc, 
N 



The Mediation of Chrift 



[Part II. 



is, whether his doing fo by or without a Mediator be 
moft confiftent with what we know of fitnefs or pro- 
priety ? 

That pardon is bellowed through a Mediator, in a 
vaft variety of inftances among men, cannot be denied ; 
and that it is proper it mould be fo, muft be evident 
to every thinking mind. All who are acquainted with 
the common affairs of life muft be aware of the necef- 
fity of fuch proceedings, and the good effects of theui 
upon fociety.* 

- It is far lefs humbling for an offender to be pardoned 
at his own requeft, than through the interpofition of a 
third perfon : for in the one cafe he may be led to 
think that it was his virtue and penitence which influ- 
enced the decifion; whereas in the other he is compelled 
to feel his own unworthinefs : and this may be one 
reafon why the mediation of Chrift is fo offenfive. It 
is no wonder, indeed, that thofe who deny humility to 
be a virtue,f mould be difgufted with a doctrine, the 
profeffed object of which is to abafe the pride of man. 

As forgivenefs without a Mediator is lefs humbling 
to the offender, fo it provides lefs for the honour of the 
offended, than a contrary proceeding. Many a com- 
panionate heart has longed to go forth, like David, to- 
wards Abfalom ;* but from a juft fenfe of wounded au- 
thority, could not tell how to effect it ; and has great- 
ly defired that fome common friend would interpofe, 
2nd fave his honour. He has wifhed to remit the fen- 
tence \ but has felt the want of a mediator, at the in- 
ftance of whom he might give effect, to his defires, and 
exercife mercy without feeming to be regardlefs of juf- 
tice. An offender who mould object to a mediator, 
would be juftly confidered as hardened in impenitence, 
and regardlefs of the honour of the offended : and it is 
difficult to fay what other conftruction can be put 
upon the objections of finners to the Mediation of 
Chrift. 

* See Preficient Edwards's Remarks on important Theological 
Contr overlies, Chap. VI. 
f Volney's Law of Nature, p. 4 9. 



CHAP. IV.] confident with Reafon. 1 43 

Again — To exercife pardon without a mediator, 
would be fixing no fuch Jligma upon the evil of the offence^ 
as is done by a contrary mode of proceeding. Every 
man feels that thofe faults which may be overlooked on 
a mere acknowledgment, are not of a very heinous na- 
ture : they are fuch as arife from inadvertence rather 
than from ill defign ; and include little more than an 
error of the judgment. On the other hand, every man 
feels that the calling in of a third perfon is making 
much of the offence, treating it as a ferious affair, a 
.breach that is not to be lightly patted over. This may 
be another reafon why the Mediation of Chrift is fo of- 
fenfive to the adverfaries of the gofpel. It is no won- 
der that men who are continually fpeaking of moral 
evil under the palliating names of error, frailty, imper- 
fetlion, and the like, mould fpurn at a doctrine, the 
implication of which condemns* it to everlafting in- 
famy. 

Finally — To beftow pardon without a Mediator 
would be treating the offence as private, or palling over 
it as a matter unknown, an affair which does not affect 
the well-being of fociety, and which, therefore, requires 
no public manifeftation of difpleafure againft it. Ma- 
ny a notorious offender would, doubtlefs, with matters 
to be thus conducted, and from an averfion to public 
expofure, would feel ftrong objections to the formal 
interpofition of a third perfon. Whether this may not 
be another reafon of diilike to the Mediation of Chrift, 
I lhall not decide ; but of this I am fully fatisfied, that 
the want of a proper fenfe of the great evil of fin, as 
it affects the moral government of the univerfe, is a 
reafon why its adverfaries fee no neceffity for it, nor 
fitnefs in it. They prove by all their writings that they 
have no delight in the moral excellency of the divine 
nature, no juft fenfe of the glory of moral government, 
and no proper views of the pernicious and wide extend- 
ed influence of" fin upon the moral fyftem. Is it any 
wonder, therefore, that they fhould be unconcerned 



♦ Roai, viii, 3, 



144 



"The Mediation of Chry} 



[Part I 



about the plague being ftayed by a facrifice ? Sue 
views are too enlarged for their felfifh and con tract e 
minds. The only object of their care, even in their mo 
ferious moments* is to efcape punifhment : for the hon 
our of God 5 and the real good of creation, they difcove 
no concern. The amount is this : If it be, indeed, im 
proper for a guilty creature to lie low beforehis Creator 
if it be unfit that any *egard fhould be paid to the hon 
our of his character ; if the offence committed again, 
him be of fo fmall account, that it is unnecefTary fo 
him to exprefs any difpleafure againft it ; and if it hav 
been fo private, and infill ated in its operations, as in n 
way to afTe£l the well-being of the moral fyftem, th 
doctrine of forgivenefs through a Mediator is unrea 
fonable. But if the contrary be true ; if it be proper 
for a guilty creature to lie in the dufl: before his offend- 
ed Creator ; if the honour of the divine character de~ 
ferve the fir ft and higher! regard *, if moral evil be the 
greateft of ail evils, and require, even where it is for- 
given, a Itrong expreffion of divine difpleafure againft 
it ; and J ff its pernicious influence be uich that if fuf- 
fered to operate according to its native tendency, it 
would dethrone the Almighty, and defolate the 'uni- 
verfe, the doctrine in queitioir muft accord with the 
plainer! dictates of reafen. 

The fenfe of mankind, wff^ regard to the neceffity 
of a Mediator, may be ill uitrated by the following 
fimilitude. Let us fuppofe a diviiicn in the army of 
one of the wifei! and bed of kings, through the evil 
ccunfel of a foreign em my, to have been difaffected 
to his government ; and that without any provocation 
on his part, they traitorcully confpired againft his 
crown and life. The attempt failed *, and the offend- 
ers were feized, difarmed, tried by the laws of their 
country, and condemned to die. A refpite however 
was granted them, during his majefly's pleafure. 
At this folemn period, while every part of the army, 
and of the empire, was expecting the fatal order for 
execution, the king was employed in meditating mer- 
cy. But how could mercy be {hewn ? U To make 



'Chap. IV.] confident with Reafon. 



J* light of a confpiracy," faid he to his friends, " would 
" loofen the bands of good government : other divif- 
« ions of the army might be tempted to follow their 
« example ; and the nation at large might be in danger 
" of imputing it to tamenefs, fear, or fome unworthy 
« motive." 

Every one felt in this cafe the neceflity of a media- 
tor, and agreed as to the general line of conduct proper 
for him to purfue. " He muft not attempt," faid they, 
" to compromife the difference by dividing the bJame : 
« that would make things worfe. He muft juftify 
" the king, and condemn the outrage committed 
" againft him ; he muft oifer, if pcfiible, fome hon- 
" ourable expedient, by means of which the bellow- 
" ment of pardon ihall not relax, but ftrengthen juft 
" authority ; he muft convince the confpirators o£ 
" their crime, and introduce them in the character of 
M fupplicants and mercy muft be fhewn them out o£ 
" reipec/r. to him, or for'his fake/' 

But who could be found to mediate in fuch a caufe ? 
This was an important queftion. A work of this kind, 
it was allowed on ail hands, required lingular qualifi- 
cations — " He muft be perfectly clear of any participation 
« in the offence" faid one, " or inclination to favour it : 
" for to pardon confpirators at the interceffion of one 
W who is friendly to their caufe, would be not only 
& making light of the crime, but giving a fanctioa 
« to it," 

" He muft," faid another, " be one who on account 
j* of his character and fervices ft amis high in the efteem 
f* of the. king and of the public :. for to mediate in fuch a 
" caufe is to become, in a fort, refponfible for the 
M iffue. A mediator in efTect pledges his honour 
¥ that np evil will refult to the ftate from the granting 
<* of his requeft. But if a mean opinion be entertain- 
w ed of him, no truft can be placed in him, and con- 
frequently no good impreffion would be made by his 
w mediation on the public mind." 

■« I conceive it is neceffary," faid a third, "that the 
g weight of the mediation ftiould bear a proportion to 
N z 



146 The Mediation of Chrtfl [Part Vt', 

" the magnitude of the crime, and tc the value of tl 
" favour requeued } and that for this end it is propt 
" he mould be a perfon of great dignity. For his ma- 
" jefty to pardon a company of confpirators at the in- 
" terceffion of one of their former comrades, or of an) 
" other ebfeure character, even though he might be 
" a worthy man, would convey a very diminutive idea r 
" of the evil of the offence." 

A fourth remarked, that " he muft poffefs a tender 
" companion towards the unhappy offenders, or he ' 
"■would not cordially intereft himfelf on their behalf." 

Finally — It was fuggefted by a fifth, that " for the 
" greater fitnefs of the proceeding, it wouid be proper 
" that fome relation or connexion mould fubfift between 
" the parties. We feel the propriety," laid he, " of I 
" forgiving an offence at the interceffion of a father,,, 
" or a brother y ^>r, if it be committed by a foldier, of 
" his, commanding officer. Without fome kind of pre- 
" vious relation or connexion", a mediation would have- 
" the appearance of an arbitrary and formal procefs* 
" and prove but little interesting to the hearts of the. 
" community." 

Such were the reafonings of the king's friends *, but. 
where to find the character in whom thefe qualifica- 
tions were united, and what particular expedient coulA 
be devifed by means of which, pardon, in Read of re- 
laxing, mould ftrengthenj.juft authority, were fubjedlv 
too difficult for them to refolve. 

Meanwhile the king and his ion, whom he greatly 
loved, and whom he had appointed generaliffimo of art. 
his forces, had retired from the company, and were* 
eonverfmg about the matter which attracted the genv- 
era! attention. 

"■ My fon !" faid the benevolent fovereign, " what: 
*« can be done in behalf of thefe unhappy men ? To 
" order them for execution, violates every feeling of 
" my heart : yet to pardon them is dangerous. The- 
" army, and even the empire would be under a ftrong 
" temptation to think lightly of rebellion. If mercy 
g be exercifed, it mud be through, a mediator, y and. 



CtTAP. IV.] eonfiftent with Reafott. 



« who is qualified to mediate in fuch a caufe ? And 
" what expedient can be devifed by means of which 
<( pardon fhall not relax, but ftrengthen jult authority: 
" Speak, my fon, and fay what meafures can be pur- 

« fued r 

" My father!" faid the prince, « I feel the infult 
" offered to your perfon and government, and the injury 
" thereby aimed at the empire at large. They have 
N tranfgrefTed without cauft, and deferve to die with-- 
" out mercy. Yet I alfo feel for them. I have the 
" heart of a foldier. I cannot endure to witnefs their 
i( execution. What (hail I fay ? On me be this wrong ! 
c< Let me fuffer in their ltead. Infiift on me as much 
N as is neceffary to imprefs the .army and the nation 
" with a juft fenfe of the evil, and of the importance 
*' of good order and faithful allegiance. Let it be in 
u their prefence, and in the prefence of all affembied. 
" When this is done, let them be permitted to implore 
" and receive your ma jetty's pardon in my name. If 
N any man refufe fo to implore, and to fo receive it,. 
H let him die the death 1" 

" My fon i" replied the king, " you have exprei£ 
" ed my heart! The fame things have occupied my 
* f mind ; but it was my defire that you lhould be vol* 
" untary in the undertaking. It fhall be as yoii 

* have faid. I (hall be fatisfied j juftice itfelf will be 
" fatisfied ; and I pledge my honour that you aifo lhall 
* { be fatisfied, in feeing the happy effects of your 
" difintereited conduct. Propriety requires that I 
" ftand aloof in the day of your affliction ; but I will 
u not leave you utterly ; nor fuffer the beloved of my 
" foul to remain in that condition. A temporary al> 
" fli&ion on your part will be more than equivalent to 
u death on theirs. The dignity of your perfon and 
« character will render the fufferings of an hour of 

* greater account as to the imprdlion of the public 
" mind, than if all the rebellious had been executed : 
* f and by how much I am known to have loved you, 
*• by- fo muck will my compaffion to them, and m j 



Ihs Mediation of Cbrifj 



[Part IE 



" difpleafure againft their wicked conduit be made 
" mamfeft. Go, my fan, affume die iikenefs of a 
" criminal, and fu€er in their place I" 

The gracious defign being communicated at court, 
all were (truck with it. Thofe who had reafoned on 
the qualifications of a mediator faw that in the prince 
all were united, and were filled with admiration : but 
that he mould be willing to fuffer in the place of rebels 
was beyond ail that could have been aiked or thought.. 
Ytt feting he himfeif. had generouily propofed it,,, 
would furvive \\\% furrerings, and reap the reward of 
them, they cordially acquiefced. The only difficulty 
that was (farted, was amonglt the judges of the realm. 
They, at hrft, queftioned whether the proceeding were 
admiliible.- "The law,? faid they, " makes provifion 
" for the transfer of debts, but not of crimes. Its 
" language is, The foul that fntieth fkall die"' But when: 
they came to view things on a more enlarged fcale^ 
confidering it as an expedient on an extraordinary oc- 
cafion, and perceived that the Jpirti of. the law would 
be preferved, and all the ends of good government an— 
fwered, they were fatisfied. « It is not -a meafure,'* 
faid they, " for which the law provides :. yet it is not 
" contrary to the law, but above it." 

The day appointed arrived. The prince appeared,., 
and fufrered as a. criminal. The hearts of the king's ■ 
friends bled at every ftroke, and burned with indigna- 
tion againft the conduct: which rendered it neceflary. 
His enemies, however, even fome of thofe for whom 
lie fufFered,. continuing, to be difaffecled, added to the 
affliction, by deriding and infuitmg him all the time. 
At a proper period, he was refcued from their outrage. 
Returning to the palace, amidft the tears and fhouts 
of the loyal fpe£tators, the fulSering hero was embrac- 
ed by his royal father ; who, in addition to the natural 
affection which he bore to him as a fon, loved him for 
his fmguiar interpofition at fuch a crifis. " Sit thou/' 
faid he, "at my right hand ! Though the threatenings 
" of the law be not literally accomplifhed, yet the 
« fpirit of them is prefened. The honour of good- 



Chap. IV.] confijlent with Reafen. 



149 



" government is fecured, and the end of punifhment 
« more effectually anfwered than if all the rebels had 
M been facrificed. Aik of me what I mall give thee ! 
w No favour can be too great to be beflowed, even 
M upon the unworthieft, nor any crime too aggravated 
" to be forgiven, in thy name. I will grant thee ac- 
** cording to. thine own heart ! A& of me, my fon* 
M. what I mail give thee !" 

He afked for the offenders to be introduced as fup- 
plicants at the feet of his father, for the forgivenefs of 
their crimes, and for the direction of affairs till order 
and happinefs fnould be perfectly reftored. 

A proclamation, addreffed to the confpirators, was- 
now iffued, ftating what had been their conduct, what 
the conduct of the king, and what of the prince. Me£* 
fengers aifo were appointedrto carry it, with orders to 
read it publickly, and to expoftulate with them indi-. 
virtually, befeeching them to be reconciled to their of-- 
fended fovereign, and to aiTure them that if they re». 
jeered this, there remained no more hope of mercy. 

A fpeclator would fuppofe that in mercy fo freely 
offered, and fo honourably communicated, every one 
would have acquiefced •, and if reafdri had governed 
the offenders, it had been fo : but many amongft them 
continued under -the influence of difaffecYion, and dif- 
affection gives a falfe colouring to every thing. 

The time of the refpite having proved longer than 
was at firft expected, fome had begun to amufe them- 
felves with idle fpeculations, flattering themfelves that 
their fault was a mere trifle, and that it would certain- 
ly be paffed over. Indeed the greater part of them, 
had turned their attention to other things, concluding 
that the king was not in good earned. 

When the proclamation was read, many paid no 
manner of attention to it ; fome infinuated that the 
meffengers were interefted men, and that there might 
be no truth in what they faid and fome even abufed 
them as impoftors. So, having delivered their mef- 
fage, they withdrew : and the rebels finding themfelves. 
alone, fuch of them as paid any attention to the fub~ 
je& expreffed their minds as follows ;. 



The Mediation of Chrifl 



[Part IL 



" My heart/' fays one, " rifes againfl: every part of 
" this proceeding. Why all this ado about a few words 
" fpoken one to another ? Can fuch a meffage as this 
(S have proceeded from the king ? What have we done 
" fo much againfl him, that fo much mould he made 
(£ of it ? No petition of ours, it feems, would avail 
" any thing ; and nothing that we could fay or do 
*' could be regarded, uniefs prefented in the name of 
«< a third perfon. Surely if we prefent a petition in 
« our own names, in which we beg pardon, and 
« c promife not to repeat the offence, this might fuffice.. 
" Even this is more than I can find in my heart to 
« comply with ; but every thing beyond it is unrea- 
*f fonable •, and who can believe that the king can de- 
« fire it ?* 

i( If a third perfon,"" fays another, " mufl be con- 
* s cerned in the affair, what occahon is there for one fo 
" high in rank and dignity ? To Hand in need of fuch a 
" mediator muft ftamp our characters with everlafting 
" infamy. It is very unreafonable : who can believe 
*< it ? If the king be juft and good, as they fay he is, 
U how can he wifh thus publickiy to expofe us V* 

" I obferve," fays a third, " that the mediator is wholly 
** on the kings fide ; and one whom, though he affecls 

to pity us, we have from the outfet, confidered as no 
« lefs our enemy than the king himfelf. If, indeed, he 
M could compromife matters, and would allow that we 
" had our provocations, and would promife us redrefs> 
" and an eafier yoke in future, I mould feel inclined to 
«« hearken : but if he have no conceflions to offer, I 
*} can never be reconciled." 

<c I believe," fays a fourth, « that the king knows very 
<r well that we have not had jultice done us, and there- 
at fore this- mediation bufmefs is introduced to make us 
«* amends for the injury. It is an affair fettled fome- 
« how betwixt him and his fon. They call k grace z 
** and I am not much concerned what they call it, fo 
«*- that my life is fpared ; but this I fay, if he had not 
« made this or fome kind of provifion, I {hould haver 
« thought him a tyrant/' 



CHAP. IV.] conjiftent with Reafon. 



« You are all wrong," fays a fifth : « I compre- 
«« hend the defign, and am well pleafed with it. I hate 
<< the government as much as any of you : but I love 
« the mediator ; for I underftand it is his intention to 
« deliver me from its tyranny. He has paid the debt, 
« the king is fatisfied, and I am free. I will fue ouc 
« my right, and demand my liberty !" 

In addition to this, one of the company obferved, he 
did not fee what the greater part of them had to do 
with the proclamation, unlefs it were to give it a hear- 
ing, which they had done already. " For," faid he, 
" pardon is promifed only to them who are willing to 
" fubmit, and it is well known that many of us are 
« unwilling j nor can we alter cur minds on this 
« fubjea." 

After a while, however, fome of them were brought 
to relent. They thought upon the fubjecl: matter of 
the proclamation, were convinced of the juftnefs of 
its ftatements, reflected upon their evil conduct, 
and were fincerely forry on account of it. And 
now the mediation of the prince appeared in a very 
different light. They cordially faid Amen to every 
part of the proceeding. The very things which gave 
fuch offence while their hearts were difafFected, 
now appeared to them fit, and right, and glorious. 
" It is fit," fay they, " that the king mould be 
u honoured, and that we mould be humbled ; for we 
u have tranfgreffdd without caufe. It is right that no 
r regard mould be paid to any petition of ours for its 
" own fake •, for we have done deeds worthy of death. 
«' It is glorious that we mould be faved at the intercef- 
" fion of fo honourable a perfonage. The dignity of 
« his character, together with his furprifing condefcen- 
ie fion and goodnefs, irnprefTes us more than any thing 
** elfe, and fills our hearts with penitence, confidence, 
** and love. That which in the proclamation is called 
" grace, is grace ; for we are utterly unworthy of it ; 
** and if we had all fuffered according to our fentence, 
" the king and his throne had been guiltlefs. We 
* fi embrace the mediation of the prince, not as a repa- 



The Mediation of Chrift [Part I!. 



e< ration for an injury, but as a lingular inftance of 
6( mercy. And far be it from us that we mould con- 
u fider it as defigned to deliver us from our original 
u and juft allegiance to his majefty's government ! No, 
Cf rather it is intended to reftore us to it. We love our 
** interceftbr, and will impiore forgivenefs in his name; 
** but we alio love our fovereign, and long to pro ft rate 
f* ourfelves at his feet. We rejoice in the fatisfadion 
4< which the prince has made, and all our hopes of 

mercy are founded upon it : but we have no notion 
u of being freed by it previoufly to our acquiefcence 
* c in it. Nor do we deftre any other kind of freedom 
ff. than that which while it remits the juft fentence of 
u the law, reftores us to his majefty's government. 
*« O that we were once clear of this hateful and hor- 
" rid confpiracy, and might be permitted to ferve him 
?* with affection and fidelity all the days of our life ! 
« We cannot fufpect the Jincerity of the invitation, or 
€< acquit our companions on the fcore of uniuillingnefs* 
c < Why ihould we ? We do not on this account acquit 
" ourfelves. On the contrary, it is the remembrance 
« of our unwillingnefs that now cuts us to the heart. 

We well remember to what it was owing that we 
« could not be fatisfied with the juft government of the 
" king, and afterwards could not comply with the invita- 
" tions of mercy : it was becaufe we were under the 
" dominion of a dif off e tied fpirit ; a fpirit which wick- 
" ed as it is in itfelf, it would be more wicked to jufti- 
« fy. Our counfel is, therefore, the fame as that of 
« his majefty's meffengers, with whom we now take 
W our ftand. Let us lay afide this cavilling humour, 
« repent, and fue for mercy in the way prefcribed, ere 
« mercy be hid from our eyes !" 

The reader, in applying this fuppofed cafe to the 
Mediation of Chrift, will do me the juftice to remem- 
ber that I do not pretend to have perfectly reprefented 
it. Probably there is no fimilitude fully adequate to 
the purpofe. The diftinclion between the Father and 
the Son is not the fame as that which fubfifts between 
a father and a fon amongft men ; the latter are two 



Chap. IV.] ecrjiftent with Reafon. 



'53 



feparate beings ; but to alTert this of the former would 
be inconfiftent with the divine unity. And with re- 
fpect to the innocent voluntarily fuffcring for the guilty, 
in a few extraordinary inftances this principle may be 
adopted ; but the management and application of it, 
generally require more wifdom and more power than 
mortals porTefs. We may by the help of a machine 
collect a few fparks of the electrical fluid, and produce 
an effect fomewhat refembling that of lightning : but 
we cannot caufe it to blaze like the Almighty, nor thun- 
der with a voice like Him. 

Imperfect, however, as the foregoing fimilitude may 
appear in fome refpects, it is fufficient to {hew the fal- 
lacy of Mr. Paine's reafoning. " The doctrine of Re- 
ft demption," fays this writer, « has for its bafis an idea 
I" of pecuniary juftice, and not that of moral juftice. 
" If I owe a perfon money, and cannot pay him, and 
" he threatens to put me in prifon, another perfon can 
ff take the debt upon himfelf and pay it for me. But 
" if I have committed a crime, every circumftance of 
" the cafe is changed. Moral juftice cannot take 
" the innocent for the guilty, even if the innocent would 
" offer itfelf. To fuppofe juftice to do this, is to de- 
¥ ftroy the principle of its exiftence, which is the thing 
" itfelf. It is then no longer juftice j but is indifcrim- 
" inate revenge."* This objection, which is the fame 
for fubftance as has been frequently urged by Socini- 
ans as well as deifts, is founded in mifreprefentation. 
It is not true that redemption has for its bafis the idea 
of pecuniary juftice, and not that of moral juftice. 
That fin is called a debt, and the death of Chrift a 
price, a ranfom, Zsfc. is true ; but it is no unufual thing 
for moral obligations and deliverances to be expreffed 
in language borrowed from "pecuniary tranfactions. 
The obligations of a fon to a father are commonly ex- 
prefTed by fuch terms as owing and paying : he owes a 
debt of obedience, and in yielding it, he pays a debt of 
gratitude. The fame may be faid of an obligation to 

* Age of Reafon, Part I. p, ZQ, 

o 



The Mediation cf Chr'ijl [Part II. 



punifhment. A murderer owes his life to the juftice 
of his country ; and when he fuffers, he is faid to pay 
the awful debt. So alfo if a great character by fuffer- 
ing death could deliver his country, fuch deliverance 
would be fpoken of as obtained by the price of blood* 
No one miftakes thefe things by underftanding them 
of pecuniary tranfactions. In fuch connexions, every 
one perceives that the terms are ufed not literally but 
metaphorically j and it is thus that they are to be un- 
derftood with reference to the death of Chrift. As fin 
is not a pecuniary, but a moral debt ; fo the atone- 
ment for it is not a pecuniary, but a moral ranfom. 

There is doubtlefs a fufficient analogy between pe* 
cuniary and moral proceedings to juftify the ufe of fuch 
language, both in Scripture and in common life ; and 
it is eafy to perceive the advantages which arife from 
it ; as befides conveying much important truth, it ren- 
ders it peculiarly impreffive to the mind. But it is not 
always fafe to reafon from the former to the latter 5 
much lefs is it juft to affirm that the latter has for its 
bafis every principle which pertains to the former. 
The deliverance effected by the prince, in the cafe be- 
fore dated, might with propriety be called a redemp* 
tion ; and the recollection of it under this idea would 
be very impreffive to the minds of thofe who were 
delivered. They would fcarcely be able to fee or 
think of their commander in chief, even though it 
might be years' after the event, without being remind- 
ed of the price at which their pardon was obtained, 
and dropping a tear of ingenuous grief over their un- 
worthy conduct on this account. Yet it would not 
be juft to fay that this redemption had for its bafis an 
idea of pecuniary juftice, and not that of moral juftice. 
It was moral juftice which in this cafe was fatisfied ; 
not however in its ordinary form, but as exercifed ori 
an extraordinary occafion ; not the letter, but the fpirit 
of it. 

The Scripture doctrine of atonement being convey- 
ed in language borrowed from pecuniary tranfactions* 
\% not only improved by unbelievers into an argument 



Chap. IV.] confjlent with Reafon, 



againft the truth of the gofpel, but has been the occa- 
fion of many errors amongft the profeflbrs of Chrif- 
tianity. Socinus on this ground attempts to explain 
away the neceffity of a fatisfaction. " God," fays he, 
" is our Creator. Our fins are debts which we have 
«' contracted with him but every one may yield up 
" his right, and more efpecially God, who is the fu- 
•* preme Lord of all, and extolled in the Scriptures for 
" his liberality and gcodnefs. Hence then it is evident 
* f that God can pardon fins without any fatisfaction 
" received."* Others , who profefs to embrace the 
doctrine of fatisfaction, have on the fame .ground per- 
verted and abufed it ; objecting to the propriety of 
humble and continued applications for mercy, and pre- 
furning to claim the forgivenefs of their fins, paft, pref- 
ent and to come, as their legal right, and what it would 
be unjuft in the Supreme Being, having received com- 
plete fatisfaction, to withhold. 

To the reafoning of Socinus, Dr. Owen judicioufly 
replies by diftinguiftiing between right as it refpects 
dtblSy and as it refpects government. The former he 
allows may be given up without a fatisfaction, but not 
the latter, " Our fins," he adds, " are called debts, 
• not properly, but metaphorically."f This anfwer 
equally applies to thofe who pervert the doctrine, as 
to thofe who deny it ; for though in matters of debt 
and credit a full fatisfaction from a furety excludes 
the idea of free pardon on the part of the creditor, and 
admits of a claim on the part of the debtor, yet it »is 
etherwife in relation to crimes. In the interpofition 
ef the prince, as dated above, an honourable expedi- 
ent was adopted, by means of which, the fovereign was 
fatisfied, and the exercife of mercy rendered confident 
with juft authority : but there was no lefs grace in the 
act of forgivenefs, than if it had been without a fatif- 
faction. However well pleafed the king might be with 

* Trcat'ife of Jefus Chrift the Saviour, Pt. III. Ch. I. 
\ Diflertation on Divine Juftice, Ch. IX. § vii. viit 



t 5 6 



The Mediation of Chrift 



[Part II. 



the conduct of his fon, the freenefs of pardon was not 
at all diminiihed by it nor mud the criminals come 
before him asi claimants, but as fupplicants, imploring 
mercy in the mediator's name. 

Such are the leading ideas which the Scriptures give 
us of redemption by Jefus Chrift. The apoftle Paul 
efpecially teaches this doctrine with great precifion : 
Being juftified freely by his grace* through the redemption 
that is in Jefus Chrift : whom God haih fet forth to be a 
propitiation, through faith in his bloody to dec/are his right" 
eoufnefs for the remiffion of fins that are pa/}, through the 
forbearance of God ; to declare, I fay, at this time his right- 
eoufnefs, that he might be jifl, and the juflifier cf him thai 
belie-veth in Jefus** From this pafTage we may remark, 
Firft, That the grace of God, as taught in the Scrip- 
tures, is not that kind of liberality which Socinians 
and Deifts afcribe to him, which fets afide the neceflity 
of a fatisfa&ion. Free grace, according to Paul, re- 
quires a propitiation, even the fhedding of the Saviour's 
blood, as a medium through which it may be honoura- 
bly communicated. Secondly, Redemption by Jefus 
Chrift was accomplished, not by a fatisfa&ion that 
fhould preclude the exercife of grace in forgivenefs, 
but in which the difpleafure of God againft iin being 
manifefted, mercy to the (inner might be exercifed 
without any fufpicion of his having relinquished his 
regards for righteoufnefs. In fetting forth Jefus Chrifl 
to be a propitiation, he declared his righteoufnefs for the 
remiffion of fins. Thirdly, The righteoufnefs of God 
was not only declared when Chrift was made a pro- 
pitiatory facrifice ; but continues to be manifefted in 
the acceptance of believers through his name. He 
appears as jufl while acling the part of a juflifier to- 
wards every one that believeth in Jefus. Fourthly, 
That which is here applied to the bleffings of forgive- 
nefs and acceptance with God, is applicable to all 
other fpiritual bleffings : all, according to the Scrip- 

* Rom. iii, 24, 25, %6, 



Chap. IV.] 



confijlent with Rsafcn. 



'57 



tores, are freely communicated through the fame dif- 
tinguifhed medium. See Ephef. i.* 

* The Chriftian reader, it is prefumed, may, from hence, obtain 
a clear view of the ends anfwered by the death of Chrift. a fubjecl* 
which has occupied much attention amongft divines. Some have 
afferted that Chrift, by his fatisf action, accomplished this only^. 
" that God now, confidently with the honour of his jaftice, may 
H pat don (returning) finners- if he willeth foto do." This is doubt- 
Ids true as far as it goes : but it makes no proviflon for the re- 
turn of the finner. This fcheme, therefore, leaves the finner to 
perifh in impenitence and unbelief, and the Saviour without any 
Security of feeing of the travail of his foul. For how can a finner 
return without the power of the Holy Spirit ? And the Holy Spirit, 
equally with every other fpiritual bleffing, is given in confideration 
ct the death of Chrift. Others, to remedy this defect, have confid- 
ercd rhe de&th of Chrift as putchefing repentance and faith, as well 
as all other fpiritual bleffings, on behalf of the elect ; and upon 
this ground have maintained that " God is bound, in ftrict juftice, 
* in refpeet to Jefus Chrift, to confer grace and glory on ail thofe for 
" whom he died. , 'f r The writer of thefe p.iges acknowledges he nev- 
*t could perceive that any clear or determinate idea was convey- 
ed by the term purchafe in this connexion, nor does it appear to 
him to be a doctrine taught in the fcripture?, The notion of grace 
being beftowed cn account cf value received, appears to him inconfiftent 
with the iVtenefs of grace itfelf, and with the perfection of the Di- 
vine Being, to whom nothing can be added or given which can lay 
him under obligation. If the falvation of finners have been a com- 
mercial trail faction, he might pofBbly have been bound, in ftrict 
right, with rei'pect to Chrift, to beftow grace and glory ; but in that 
cafe there would h<\ve been no room for free remiffion, with refpeet 
to the Father. If fin be what Dr. Owen very juftiy contends it is, 
not a debt, but a eritr*; and if the fatisfaetion of Chrift was not a re- 
imburfement of loft property, but an expedient devifed for the pre** 
ferving of the divine character in the exerciie of mercy, no fuch 
confequence will follow. God will be under no other obligation 
to fave any finner than that which fpontaneoufiy arifes from his 
own nature, and the promife made to his Son. 

If we fay, a way was otened by the death of Christ for 

THE FREE AND CONSIST ENT EXERCISE OF MERCY, IN ALL THE- 
ME T HOE s. which Sovereign Wisdom saw fit to adopt, perhaps 
we fliall include every material idea which the Scripture gives us 
of that important event. - 

There are three kinds of blefiings in particular, which God, out 
of regard to the death of his Son, beftows upon men. — Firft, He 
fends forth the gofpel of falvation, accompanied with a free and in- 
definite invitation to embrace it, and an affurance that whofoeve? 
complies with the invitation, (for which there is no ability wanting 
%i any man who pofleiTes an hontft heart) fliall have everlafting life, 

i SeeDr, Owen's DnTertation on Divine Juftice, Ch. XII. $ v. vi, vii, 
O 2 



158 The Mediation of Chriji [Part IL 

Thefe remarks may fuffice to fhew, not only that 
Mr. Paine's alfertion has no truth in it, but that all 
thofe profefibrs of Chriftianity who have adopted his 
principle, have fo far deviated from the doc/trine of 
redemption as it is taught in the Scriptures. 

As to what Mr. Paine alleges, that the innocent 
fuffering for the guilty, even though it be with his 
own confent, is contrary to every principle of moral 
juftice, he affirms the fame of God's vifiting the iniqui- 
ties of the fathers upon the children,* But this is a truth 
evident by universal experience. It is feen every day, 
in every part of the world. If Mr. Paine indulge in 
intemperance, and leave children behind him, they 
may feel the confequences of his mifconduc~t. when he 
is in his grave. The fins of the father may thus be 
vifited upon the children to the third and fourth gen- 
eration. It would, however, be their affliclicn only, 
and not their punifnment. Yet fuch vifitations are 
wifely ordered as a motive to fobriety. Nor is it be- 
tween parents and children only that fuch a connexion 
exifls, as that the happinefs of one depends upon the 
conduct of others: a flight furvey of fociety in its va- 
rious relations, muft convince us that the fame princi- 

This favour Is beftowed on sinners as sinners. God givetb the 
true brend from heaven in this way to many who never receive it. 
He inviteth thofe to the gofpel fupper who refufe and make light of 
it, John vi. 32, 36 Matt. xxii. 4. 5. 

Secondly, Kt beftows his Hoiy Spirit to renew and fan<£tify the 
foul: gives a new heart, and a right fpirit, and takes away the 
heart of ftone. Cbrijl is exalted t9 give repentance. Atfts V. 3 1. Unto 
vs it is given in behalf of Cbrif, to believe in him. Phil. i. 29. We have 
obtained like precious faith through the rightecufncfs of God^ond cur Saviour 
fefus Chrif. % Pet. i. 1. This favour is conferred on elect sin- 
ners. See Ads xlii. 48. Rom. viii. 28, 29 3c. 

Thirdly, Through the fame medium is given the free pardon of 
all our fins, acceptance with God, power to become the fons of God, 
and the promife of everlafting life. Your ftns are forgiven you, for his 
names fake. I John, ii. 12. Gcd,for Chi if s fake, hath forgiven you, 
l£phe£ iv. 32. We are accepted in the Beloved. Ephef. i. 6. By means 
cf bis death nve receive the promife of eternal inheritance. Htb. !x. J $■> 
This kind of bleflings is conferred on believing sinners. 



* Age of Reafon, Part I, p. 4. Note, 



Chap. IV.] eonfflent with Reafon. 



pie pervades creation. To call this injuftice, is to fly 
in the face of the Creator. With fuch an objector I 
have nothing to do j He that reproveth God, let him an~ 
fwer it. 

If the idea of the innocent fuffering in the room of 
the guilty were, in all cafes, inadmiffible, and utterly 
repugn-ant to the human underftanding, how came the 
ufe of expiatory facrifices to prevail as it has, in every 
age and nation ? Whether the idea firft proceeded 
from a divine command, as Chriftians generally be- 
lieve, or whatever was its origin,, it has approved itfelf 
to the minds of men and not of the mod uncultivat- 
ed part of mankind only, but of the moft learned and 
polite. The facrifices of the Gentiles, it is true, were 
full of fuperftition, and widely different, as might be 
expected, from thofe which were regulated by the Scrip- 
tures *, but the general principle is the fame : All agree 
in the idea of the difpleafure of the Deity being ap- 
peafable by an innocent victim being facrifieed in the 
place of the guilty. The idea of expiatory facrifices, 
and of a mediation founded upon them, is beautifully 
exprefled in the book of Job - r a book not only of great 
antiquity, but which feems to have obtained the ap- 
probation of Mr. Paine, having,, as he fuppofes, been 
written by a Gentile. And it was Jb, that, after the 
Lord had fpokeh thefe words unto Job, the Lord /aid to 
Eliphaz the 'Tematiite, My wrath is kindled againfl thee y 
*nd again/} thy two friends : for ye have not fpoken of me 
the thing that is right) as my fervant Job hath. Therefore 
take unto you now /even bullocks and J even rams, and go to 
my fervant Job, and offer up for your/elves a burnt-offer- 
ing, and my fervant Job /hall pray for you ; for him will 
I accept : left I deal with you after your folly, in that ye 
have not fpoken of me the thing which is right, like my 
fervant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the 
Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, went and did ac- 
cording as the Lord commanded them i the Lord alfo ac- 
cepted Job.* The objections which are now made to 



* Chap. xlii. 7, 8, 9. 



i6o 



The Mediation of Chrijl, &c. [Part IL 



the facrifice of Chrift, equally apply to all expiatory 
facrifices ; the offering up of which, had not the for- 
mer fuperfeded them, would have continued to this 
day. 

If an innocent character offer to die in the room of 
a guilty fellow-creature, it is not ordinarily accepted, 
nor would it be proper that it mould. For he may 
have no juft right to difpofe of his life ; or if he have, 
he has no power to refume it : there may like wife be 
no fuch relation between the parties, as that the fuf- 
fering of the one fhould exprefs difpleafure againft the 
conduct of the other. Betides this, there may be no 
great and good end accompliihed by fuch a fubftitu- 
tion, to fociety ; the lofs fuftained by the death of the 
one might be equal, if not fuperior, to the gain from 
the life of the other. If the evil to be endured might 
be furvived •, if the relation between the parties were 
fuch that in the fufferings of the one, mankind would 
be impreffed with the evil of the other ; and if by fuch 
<a proceeding great advantage would accrue to fociety, 
inftead of being accounted inadmimble, it would be 
reckoned right, and wife, and good. If a dignified 
individual, by enduring fome temporary feverity from 
an offended nation, could appeafe their difpleafure, and 
thereby fave his country from the deftroying fword, ; . 
who would not admire his dilinterefted conduct ? And 
if the offended, from motives of humanity, were con- 
tented with exprefBng their difpleafure, by transferring 
the effect of it from a whole nation to an individual, 
who thus ftepped forward on their behalf, would their 
conduct be cenfured as " indifcriminate revenge ?" 
The truth is, the atonement of Chrift affords a difplay 
of juftice on too large a fcale, and on too humbling a 
principle, to approve itfelf to a contracted, fel&Q}, and 
haughty mind. 



Chap. V.] Redemption eonfiflent ivithy &c* i&% 



CHAP. V. 

The confiftency cf the Scripture DoBrine of Redempiioaj 
with the modem opinion of the Magnitude of Creation* 

It is common for Deifts to impute the progrefs of 
their principles to the prevalence of true philofophy. The 
world, they fay, is more enlightened ; and a great 
number of difcoveries are progreiTively making, which 
render the credibility of the Scriptures more and more 
fufpicious. It is now a commonly received opinion, 
for inftance, among men of fcience, that this world is 
but a point in creation j that every planet is a world, 
and all the fixed ftars fo many funs in the centres of 
fo many fyftems of worlds - T and that as every part of 
creation within our knowledge teems with life, and as 
God hath made nothing in vain, it is highly probable 
that all thefe worlds are inhabited by intelligent beings, 
who are capable of knowing and adoring their Creator. 
But if this be true, how incredible is it that fo great a 
portion of regard mould be exercifed by the Supreme 
Being towards man as the Scriptures reprefent ; how 
incredible, • efpecially, it muft appear to a thinking 
mind, that Deity mould become incarnate, mould take 
human nature into the molt intimate union with hini- 
felf, and thereby raife it to fuch fingular eminency in 
the fcale of being, though compared with the whole of 
creation, if we comprehend even the whole fpecies, it 
will be lefs than a neft of infects compared with the 
unnumbered millions of animated beings which inhabit 
the earth. 

This objection, there is reafon to think, has had a 
very confiderable influence on the fpeculating part of 
mankind. Mr. Paine, in the Firft Part of his Age cf 
Reafon? has laboured, after his manner, to make the 

* Page 40—47. 



l6z Redemption conft/Ient with [Part IL 

moft of it, and thereby to difparage Chriftianity. 
" Though it is not a direct article cf the Chriftian 
" fyftem,' , he fays, " that this world, which we in- 
" habit, is the whole of the habitable creation yet it 
** is fo worked up therewith, from what is called the 
€< Mofaic account of the creation, the ftory of Eve and 
" the apple, and the counterpart of that ftory, the 
" death of the Son of God, that to believe otherwife, 
" that is, to believe that God created a plurality of 
** worlds, at leaft as numerous as what we caii ftars r 
" renders the Chriftian fyftem of faith, at once little 
" and ridiculous, and fcatters it in the mind like feath- 
" ers in the air. The two beliefs cannot be held to- 
" gether in the fame mind •, and he who thinks he be- 

* lieves both, has thought but little of either."* 
Again — Having difcourfed on the vaft extent of 

creation, he afks, " But in the midft of thefe reflec- 

* tL"ns, what are we to think cf the Chriftian fyftem 
** of faith, that forms itfelf upon the idea of only one 

* world, and that of no greater extent than twenty-five 
" thoufand miles ■?" — u From whence could arife the 
" folitary and ftrange conceit that the Almighty, who 
" had millions of worlds equally dependent on his 
" protection, (hould quit the care of all the reft, and 
u come to die in our world becaufe they fay one man, 
ct and one woman had eaten an apple ? And on the 
" other hand, are we to fuppofe that every world in 
" the boundlefs creation had an Eve, an apple, a fer- 
" pent, and a Redeemer ? In this cafe, the. perfon who 
" is irreverently called the Son of God, and fometimes 
w God himfelf, would have nothing elfe to do than to 

* travel from world to world, in an endlefs fucceflion 
" of death, with fcarce a momentary interval of life."f 

To animadvert upon all the extravagant and cfTen- 
five things, even in fo fmall a part of Mr. Paine's per- 
formance as the above quotation, would be an irkfome 
tafk. A few remarks, however, may not be improper. 

Firft — Though Mr. Paine is pleafed to fay, in his 
ufual ftyle of naked afTertion, that " the two beliefs 



* Page 40. 



t ^ge 46, 



Chap. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. 



«« cannot be held together •, and that he who thinks he 
« believes both, has thought but little of either f yet 
he cannot be ignorant, that many who have admitted 
the one, have, at the fame time, held fait the other. 
Mr. Paine is certainly not overloaded with modedy, 
when comparing his own abilities and acquifitions 
with thofe of other men : but I am inclined to think, 
that, with all his aflurance, he will not pretend that 
Bacon, or Boyle, or Newton, to mention no more, had 
thought but little of philofophy or Chriftianity. I im 
agine it would be within the compafs of truth, wejg* 
to fay, they beftowed twenty times more thought upon 
both thefe fubjecU than ever Mr. Paine did. sHis ex- 
treme ignorance of Ghridiamty, at lead, is mamfeft, 
by the numerous grofs blunders of which he has been 
detected. 

Secondly— Suppofing the Scripture accou t of the 
Creation to be inconfiftent with the ideas which mod- 
ern philofophers entertain of its extent j yet it is not 
what Mr. Paine repref^nts it. It certainly does not 
teach, « that this world, which we inhabit, is the whole 
t( of the habitable creation." Mr. Paine will not de- 
ny, that it exhibits a world of happinefs, and a world 
of mifery, though in the career of his extravagance, he 
feems to have overlooked it* 

Thirdly — If the two beliefs, a3 Mr. Paine calls them, 
cannot be confidently held together, we need not be 
at a lofs to determine which to relinquifh. All the 
reafoning in favour of a multiplicity of worlds, inhab- 
ited by intelligent beings, amounts to no more than 
a Jlrong probability. No man can properly be fa id to 
believe it : it is not a matter of faith, but of opinion. 
It is an opinion too that has taken place of other opin- 
ions, which* in their day* were admired by the philo- 
fophical part of mankind as much as this is in ours, 
Mr. Paine feems to wilh to have it thought, that the 
doctrine of a multiplicity of inhabited worlds is a 
matter of demonjiration : but the exidence of a number 
of heavenly bodies, whofe revolutions are under the 
(direction of certain laws, and whofe returns, there* 



Redemption ccnfifleut ivith [Part II. 



fore, are the objects of human calculation, does not 
prove that they are all inhabited by intelligent beings. 
I do not deny that, from other confiderations, the thing 
may be highly probable ; but it is no more than a 
probability. Now, before we give up a doctrine, 
which, if it were even to prove fallacious, has no dan- 
gerous confequences attending it ; and which, if it 
Ihould be found a truth, involves our eternal falvation, 
we mould endeavour to have a more folid ground than 
mere opinion on which to take our ftand. 

But I do not wiih to avail myfelf of thefe observa- 
tions, as I am under no apprehenfions that the caufe 
in which I engage requires them. Admitting that 

THE INTELLIGENT CREATION IS AS EXTENSIVE AS 
MODERN PHILOSOPHY SUPPOSES, THE CREDIBILITY 
OF REDEMPTION IS NOT THEREBY WEAKENED j BUT, 
ON THE CONTRARY, IN MANY RESPECTS, IS STRENGTH- 
ENED and aggrandized. I (hall offer a few obfer- 
vations on each of the branches of the above pofition. 

The Scripture doctrine of Redemption, it is ac- 
knowledged, fuppofes that man, mean and little as he 
is in the fcale of being, has occupied a peculiar portion 
of the divine regard. It requires to be noticed, how- 
ever, that the enemies of revelation, in order, it mould 
feem, to give the greater force to their objection, di- 
mjniih the importance of man, as a creature of God, 
beyond what its friends can admit. Though Mr. 
Paine expriffeth his " hope of happinefs beyond this 
Ci life •," and though fome other deiftical writers have 
admitted the immortality of the foul ; yet this is more 
than others of them will allow. The hope of a future 
flate, as we have feen, is objected to by many of them 
as a Jelfifi principle j and others of them have attempt- 
ed to hold it up to ridicule. But the immortality of 
man is a doctrine which Redemption fuppofes ; and 
if this be allowed, man is not fo infignificant a being 
as they might wifb to confider him. A being that 
pofTeffes an immortal mind, a mind capable of increas- 
ing knowledge, and confcquently of increafing happi- 
nefs or mifery^ in an endiefs duration, cannot be in- 



Chap. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. ' 165 

fignificant. It is no exaggeration to fay that the fal- 
vation of one foul, according to the fcriptural account 
of things, is of inconceivably greater moment than the 
temporal falvation of a nation, or of all the nations in 
the world, for ten thoufand ages. The eternal falva- 
tion, therefore, of a number of loft {irmers, which no 
man can number, however it may be a matter of infi- 
nite condefcenfion in the great Supreme to accomplifh, 
is not an object for creatures, even the moft exalted, 
to confider as of fmall account. 

Having premifed thus much, I fhall proceed, in the 
firft place, to offer a few obfervations in proof that 

THERE IS NOTHING IN THE SCRIPTURE DOCTRINE OF 
REDEMPTION WHICH IS INCONSISTENT WITH THE 
MODERN OPINION OF THE MAGNITUDE OF CREATION. 

I. Let creation be as extenftve as it may, and the num- 
ber of ivorlds be multiplied to the utmofl boundary to luhich 
imagination can reach, there is no proof that any of them y 
except men and angels, have apoftaiized from God. 

If our world be only a fmall province, fo to fpeak, 
of God's valt empire, there is reafon to hope, that it is 
the only part of it where fin has entered, except among 
the fallen angels ; and that the endlefs myriads of in- 
telligent beings, in other worlds, are all the hearty 
friends of Virtue, of order, and of God. 

If this be true, (and there is nothing in philofophy 
or divinity, I believe, to difcredit it,) then Mr. Paine 
need not have fuppofed, if he could have fuppreffed 
the pleafure of the witticifm, that the Son of God 
fhould have to travel from world to world in the char- 
acter of a Redeemer. 

II. Let creation be ever fo extenfve, there is nothing in- 
conftflent ivith reafon in fuppofng that fome one particular 
part of it fhould be chef en cut of the reft, as a theatre on 
which the great Author of all things would perform his 
moft glorious works. 

Every empire that has been N founded in this world 
has had fome one particular fpot where thofe actions 
were performed, from whence its glory has arifen. 



1 66 



Redemption confiftent with 



[Part 



The glory of the Csefars was founded on the event of a 
battle fought near a very inconfiderable city : and why 
might not this world, though lefs than " twenty-five 
« thoufand miles in circumference," be chofen as the 
theatre on which God would bring about events that 
mould fill his whole empire with glory and joy? It 
would be as reasonable to plead the infignificance of 
Aclium or Agincourt as an objection to the competency 
of the victories there obtained, (fuppofmg them to have 
been on the fide of righteoufneis) to fill the refpec"tive 
empires of Rome and Britain with glory, as that of our 
world to fill the whole empire of God with matter of 
joy and everlafting praife. The truth is, the compare 
ative dimenfion of our world is of no account. If it; 
be large enough for the accomplifhment of events 
which are fufficient to occupy the minds of all intelli- 
gences, that is all that is required. 

III. If a n y cm pari of God's creation , rather than an- 
ether , pojfejfed a fuperior fitnefs to become a theatre on which 
he might di/play his glory, it fhould feem to be that part 
where the great eft efforts have been made to difhonour him. 

A rebellious province in an empire, would be the 
fitteft place in it to clifplay the juftice, goodnefs, and 
benignity of a government. Here would naturally be 
erected the banner of righteoufnefs ; here the war 
would be carried on ; here pardons and punifhments 
to different characters would be awarded ; and here 
the honours of the government would be eftablifhed 
on fuch a bails, that the remoter! parts of the empire 
might hear, and fear, and iearn obedience. The part 
that is difeafed, whether in the body natural, or the 
body politic, is the part to which the remedy is direct- 
ed. Let there be what number of worlds there may, 
full of intelligent creature? ; yet if there be but one 
world which is guilty and miferable, thither will be 
directed the operations of mercy. The good fhepherd 
of the fheep will leave the ninety and nine in the wit 
dernefs, and feek and fave that which k loft. 



*Chap. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. i6y 

IV. The events brought to pafs in this world) little and 
infignificant as it may be, are competent to fill all and every 
part of God's dominions with everlafling and increajing joy. 

Mental enjoyment differs widely from corporeal : the 
beftowment of the one upon a great number of objects 
is neceHarily attended with a divifion of it into parts ; 
and thofe who come in for a {hare of it diminifh the 
quantity remaining for others that come after them 5 
but not fo the other. An intellectual object requires 
only to be known, and it is equally capable of affording 
enjoyment to a million as to an individual ; to a world 
as to a million ; and to the whole univerfe, be it ever fo 
extenfive, as to a world. If, as the Scriptures inform 
US, G:d was manifejt in the fie/h, jiiftified in the fpirit^ 
feen of angels \ preached unto the Gentiles ; believed on in the 
worldy and received up into glory ; if there be enough in 
this m-fierious tranfa&ion to fill with joy the hearts of 
all who believe it ; if it be fo interefting that the mod 
exalted intelligences become comparatively indifferent 
.'to every other object, defying to look into it ; then is it 
fufficient to fill all th'mgs, and to exhibit the divine 
glory in all places of his dominion* 

Mr. Paine allows that it is not a direct article of the 
Chriitian fyffcem that there is not a plurality of inhab- 
ited worlds ; yet he -affirms it is fo worked up with the 
Scripture account, that to believe the latter we mud 
Telinquifti the former, as little and ridiculous. 
i The Scriptures, it is true, do not teach the doctrine 
of a multitude of inhabited worlds ; but neither do 
they teach the contrary. Neither the one nor the 
other forms any part of their defign. The object they 
keepdn view, though Mr. Paine may term it " little 
*« at© ridiculous," is infinitely fuperior to this, both as 
to utility and magnitude. They were not given to 
teach us aftronomy, or geography, or civil government, 
or any fcience which relates to the prefent life only ; 
therefore they do not determine upon any fyftem of 

* t Pet. I iz. Ephef iv. 10. Pfal. ciii. a 3, 



1 68 Redemption confifient with [Part IX. 



any of thefe fciences. Thefe are things upon which 
reafon is competent to judge, fufficiently, at ieaft, for all 
the purpofes of human life, without a revelation from 
heaven. The great object of Revelation is, to inftruc~r, 
us in things which pertain to our everlafting peace ; 
and as to other things, even the rife and fall of the 
mightieft empires, they are only touched in an inci- 
dental manner, as the mention of thern might be nec- 
effary to high purpofes. The great empires of Baby- 
lon, Perfia, Greece, and Rome are predicted and de- 
fcribed in the Scriptures, by the rifmg and ravaging of 
fo many becjls of prey. Speaking of the European part 
of the earth, which was inhabited by the pofterity of 
Japhet, they do not go about to give an exact geo- 
graphical defcription cf it ; but, by a fynecdoche, 
call it the ijles of the Gentiles ;* and this, as I fuppofe, 
becaufe its eafijern boundary, the Archipelago^ or Gre- 
cian If andsy were fituated contiguous to the Holy Land. 
And thus, when fpeaking of the whole creation, they 
call it the heavens and the earthy as being the whole that 
comes within the reach of our fenfes. 

It is no difhonour to the Scriptures that they keep 
to their profeffed end. Though they give us no fyflem 
of aftronomy \ yet they urge us to fludy the works of 
God, and teach us to adore him upon every difcovery. 
Though they give us no fyftem of geography ; yet 
they encourage us to avail ourfelves of obfervation and x 
experience to obtain one, feeing the whole earth is 
given in prophecy to the Meffiah, and is marked out 
as the field in which his fervants are to labour. Though 
they determine not upon any mode or fyftem of civil 
government ; yet they teach obedience, in civil matters, 
to all. And though their attention be mainly diretjfed 
to things which pertain to the life to come ; yet by at- 
tending to their inftru&ions, we are alfo fitted for the 
labours. and fufferings of the prefent life. 

The Scriptures are written in a popular ftyle, as bed 
adapted to their great end. If the falvation of philof- 



* Gen. x, 5. Ifai. xlix. i. 



ChAP. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. 



169 



ophers only had been their object, the language might 
poffibly have been fomewhat different ; though even 
this may be a matter of doubt, fince the ftyle is fuited 
to the fubjecl:, and to the great end which they had in 
view : But being addreffed to men of every degree, it 
was highly proper that the language mould be fitted 
to every capacity, and fuited to their common modes 
of conception. They fpeak of the foundations of the 
earth, the ends of the earth, the greater and lejfer lights in 
the heavens, the fun rifing, flandlng Jlill, and going down, 
and many other things in the fame way. If deifts ob- 
jt€t to thefe modes of fpeaking as conveying ideas 
which are inconfiftent with the true theory of the 
heavens and the earth, let them, if they can, fubftitute 
others which are confident : let them, in their common 
converfation, when defcribing the revolutions of even- 
ing and morning, fpeak of the earth as riling and going- 
down inftead of the fun, and the fame with regard to 
tTie revolutions of the planets, and fee if men in com- 
mon will better underftand them, or whether they 
would be able even to underfland one another. The 
conltant ufe of fuch language, even by philofophers 
themfelves, in common converfation, fufficiently proves 
the futility and unfairnefs of their objecting to Revela- 
tion on this account. The popular ideas on thefe fub- 
jefts are as much " worked up" in the common conver- 
fation of philofophers, as they are in the Scriptures. 

By the drift of Mr. Paine's writings, he feems to 
wifh to convey the idea, that fo contracted were the 
views of the fcriptural writers, that even the globular-' 
ity of the earth was unknown to them. If, however* 
fuch a fentence as that of Job, He hangeth the earth upon 
nothing,* had been found in any of the old heathen 
writers, he would readily have concluded that " this 
idea was familiar to the ancients." Or if a heathen 
poet had uttered fuch language as that of Ifaiah — Be- 
hid the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted 
P 2 

* Chap, xxvi. 7» 



170 



Redemption confijlent with 



[Part II. 



as the fmall daft of the balance : behold, he taketh up the 
ijles as a very little thing. All nations before Him are as 
nothing ; and they are counted to Him lefs than nothing and 
vanity, he might have been applauded as poffefiing a 
mind as large, and nearly as well informed as the gen- 
iufes of modern times. But the truth is, the fcrip- 
tural writers were not intent on difplaying the greatnefs 
of their own conception, nor even of creation itfelf ; 
but raiher of the glory of Him who filleth all in all. 

The foregoing obfervations may fuffice to remove 
Mr. Paine's objection ; but if, in addition to them, it 
can be proved, that upon the fuppofition of a great 
number of inhabited worlds, Chriftianity, inftead of 
appearing " little and ridiculous," is the more enlarged, 
and that fome of its difficulties are the more eafily ac- 
counted for, this will be ft ill more fatisfa&ory. Let 
us, therefore, proceed, Secondly, to offer evidence that 

THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF REDEMPTION IS 
STRENGTHENED AND AGGRANDIZED BY THE SUP- 
POSED MAGNITUDE OF CREATION. 

I. The Scripture teaches, that God's regard to man is 
an aftoniflnng injlance of condefcenfion, and that on account 
of the difparity between him and the celejlial creation. 

When 1 confider thy heavens, faith David, the work of 
thy fingers, the moon and the flars which thou haji ordain- 
ed ; what is man, that thou art mindful of him ; and the 
fon of man, that thou vifiiefl him ? Will God in very deed 
faith Solomon, dwell with men upon the earth ?* 

The divine condefcenfion towards man is a truth 
upon any fyftem ; but upon the fuppofition of the 
heavenly bodies being fo many inhabited worlds, it is a 
truth full of amazement, and the foregoing language 
of David and Solomon is forcible beyond all concep- 
tion. The idea of Him, who upholds a Univerfe of 

* Pf. viii. 3,4. 1 Chron. vl. 18. In this part cf the fubject 
confiderable ufe is made of the Scriptures ; but it is only for the 
purpefe of afcertaining what the Chrijiian doBrine of redemption is : 
and this is undoubtedly confiftent with every rule of juft: reafoning, 
as, whether they be true or faHe, they are the ftandard by which 
this doctrine is to be uieafured. 



ChAP. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. X71 



fuch extent by the word of his power, becoming incarnate, 
refiding with men, and fetting up his kingdom amongft. 
them, that he might raife them to eternal glory, as 
much furpaffeth all that philofophy calls great and no- 
ble, as the Creator furpaffeth the the work, of his hands. 

II. The Scriptures infortn us that before creation was 
be gun j our world was marked out by Eternal Wifdom as the 
theatre of its joyful operations. 

This idea is forcibly expreffed in the eighth chapter 
of Proverbs: Before the mountains were fettled; before 
the hills, was I brought forth — while as yet he had not 
made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highejl part of the 
dujl cf the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was 
there ; when he fet a compafs upon the face of the depth z 
when he eflablifhed the clouds above ; when he flrengthened 
the fountains of the deep : when he gave to the fea his de~ 
cree, that the waters fhould not pafs his commandment : 
when he appointed the foundations of the earth : then 1 was 
by him, as one brought up with him : and I was daily his 
delight, rejoicing always before him ; rejoicing in the habit-' 
able part of his earth ; and my delights were with the fons 
of men. 

On this interefting paffage I (hall offer a few remarks. 
Firit, Amongft the variety of objects which are here 
fpecified as the works of God, the earth is mentioned 
as being in a fort his peculiar property. Doubtlefs the 
whole creation is the Lord's \ but none of his other 
works are here claimed as his own, in the manner that 
the earth i?. It is called his earth. And this feems 
to intimate a defign of rendering it the grand theatre 
on which his greateft work fhould be performed ; a 
work that mould fill all creation with joy and wonder. 
Secondly, The wifdom of God is defcribed as rejoicing 
in the contemplation of this part of the creation. 
Whether wifdom, in this paflage, be underftood of the 
promifed Meffiah, or of a divine attribute perfonified, 
it makes no difference as to the argument. Allow it 
to mean the latter ; and that the rejoicing of wifdom is 
a figurative mode of fpeaking, like that of mercy rejoicing 



I 7 2 



Redemption confident ivith 



[Part II. 



again/} judgment ;* ftill Redemption by Jefus Chrift is 
the object concerning which it was exerciied. Nothing 
lefs can be intimated than this, that the earth was the 
place marked out by Eternal Wifdom as the theatre of 
its joyful operations. Thirdly, The habitable part of 
the earth was more efpecially the object of Wifdom's 
joyful contemplation. The abodes of men, which, 
through fin, had become fcenes of abomination, by 
the interpolation of the Mediator, were to become the 
abodes of righteoufnefs. Here the Serpent's head was 
to be bruifed ; his fchemes confounded, and his works 
deftroyed : and that by the Womaits feed, the human 
nature which he had defpifed and degraded. Here a 
trophy was to be raifed to the glory of fovereign grace,, 
and -millions of fouls, delivered from everlafting de- 
ft ruclion, were to prefent an offering of praife to Him 
that loved them, and wajhed them from their fins in his own 
blood. Here, in a word, the peculiar glory of the God- 
head was to be difplayed in fuch a manner as to afford 
a leffon of joyful amazement to the whole creation, 
throughout all ages of time, yea, world without end/f 
Laftly, Not only were the abodes of man contemplated 
with rejoicing, but the fens of men themfelves regarded 
with delight. The operations of Eternal Wifdom were 
directed to their falvation ; and their falvation was ap- 
pointed to become, in return, a mirror in which the 
whole creation mould behold the operations of Eternal 
Wifdom. This expreffive paffage contains a fulnefs 
of meaning, let the extent of the intelligent creation 
be what it may : but if it be of that extent whicb 
modern philofophy fuppofes, it contains a greater ful- 
nefs ftill. It perfectly accords with ail thofe ideas 
fuggefted, of this earth being the chofen theatre, upon 
which events fnould be brought to pafs that mall fill 
creation with everlafting joy *, and well they may, if 
the profpect of them, even rejoiced the heart of God ! 



James ii. 13. 



f Ephef. iii. ii . 



Chap. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. j 73 

III. The mediation of Chrifl is reprefented in Scripture 
as bringing the whole creation into union with the Church 
cr people of God. 

In the difpenfation of the fulnefs of times, it is faid 
I that God would gather together in one, all things in 
Chrifl) both which are in heaven, and which are on earthy 
eveti in him.* Again fcj pleafed the Father that in him 
Jhould all fulnefs dwell ; and ( having made peace through 
the blood of his crofs J by him to reconcile alt things unto 
him/elf; by him, I fay, whether things in earth, or things in 
heaven.\ 

The language here ufed, fuppofes that the introduc- 
tion of fin has effected a difunion between men and 
the other parts of God's creation. It is natural to 
fuppofe it fhould be fo. If a province of a great 
empire rife up in rebellion againft the lawful gov- 
ernment, all communication between the inhabitants 
of fuch provinces, and the faithful adherents to order 
and obedience, muft be at an end. A line of fepara- 
tion would be immediately drawn by the fovereign, 
and all intercourfe between the one and the other 
prohibited. Nor would it lefs accord with the incli- 
nation than with the duty of all the friends of right- 
eoufnefs to withdraw their connexion from thofe who 
were in rebellion againft the fupreme authority, and 
the general good : It muft have been thus with regard 
to the holy angels on man's apoftafy. Thofe who, at 
the creation of our world, had fung together > and even 
Jhouted for joy, would now retire in difguft and holy 
indignation. 

But through the mediation of Chrift a re-union is 
effe&ed. By the blood of the crofs we have peace 
with God j and, being reconciled to him, are united 
to all who love him throughout the whole extent of 
creation. If Paul could addrefs the Corinthians con- 
cerning one of their excluded members, who had beea 



* Ephcf. i. 10. 



f Col. i. 19, 20. 



J 74 



Redemption confiftent with 



[Part It 



brought to repentance. To whom ye forgive anything, I 
alfo s much more wouid the friends of righteoufnefo 
fay in their addrefies to the great Supreme, concern- 
ing an excluded member from the moral fyftem, To 
nvhom Thou forgive/1 any thing, lue alfo!' Hence angels £ 
acknowledge Chriftians as brethren, and become mm- 
iftering fpirits to them while inhabitants of the prefent 
world.* 

There is another ccnfideration which muft tend to 
cement the holy part of God's creation to the Church 
which is, their being all united under one head, A cen- 
tral point of union has a great effect, in cementing 
mankind. We fee this every day in people who fit- 
under the fame miniftry, or ferve under the fame 
commander, or are fubjects of the fame prince : 
whether minifter, general, or prince, if they love him, 
they will be more or iefs united together under him. 

Now it is a part of the reward of our Redeemer, 
for his great humiliation, that he fhould be exalted as 
head over the whole creation of God. Being found in 
fa/hion as a man, he humbled himfelf and became obedient 
unto deaths even the death of the crofs. Wherefore God 
alfo hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which 
is above every name : that at the name of Jefus every knee 
fhould bow, of heavenly beings, of earthly, and of thofe 
under the earth. He is the head of all principality and 
power. God raifed him from the dead, and Jet him at his 
own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all prin- 
cipality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every * 
name that is named, not only in this world, but alfo in that 
which is to come and put all things under his feet ; and 
gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which 
is his body, the fulnefs of him that fill eth all in all.-f 

Thefe pafTages, it is true, reprefent the dominion of 
Chrift as extending over the whole creation, enemies 

* Rev. six. 10. Heb. i. 14. 
f Phil. ii. 8, 9, 10. Col. ii. io. Ephef. i. ao, 3U, a*. 



Chap. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. 



'75 



as well as friends, and things as well as perfons. But 
if the very enemies of God are caufed to fubferve the 
purpofes of Redemption, much more his friends : what 
the others d<yby conftraint, thefe do willingly ; and 
the confiderafion of their having one head muft make 
them feel, as it were, nearer akin. And as Chriil: is 
head over all things to tfie Churchy which is his body> it is 
hereby intimated, that the happinefs of the Church is, 
by thefe means, abundantly enlarged. 

To what extent creation reaches I do not pretend to 
know : be that, however, as it may, the foregoing paf- 
fages teach us to confider the influence of Redemption 
as commenfurate with it; and in proportion to the 
magnitude of the one, fuch rrmft be the influence of 
the other as to the accomplishment of re-union, and 
the reftoration of happinefs. 

IV. Through the mediation of Chrifl not only is the 
whole creation reprefcnted as augmenting the blejfednefs of 
the Church j but the Church as augmenting the blejfednefs 
vf the whole creation. 

As one member, be it 'ever fo fmali, cannot fuffer, 
without the whole body, in forne degree, fuffering 
with it ; fo if we conlider our world as a member of 
the great body, or fyftem of being, it might naturally 
be fuppofed that the ill or well being of the former 
would, in fome meafure, affect the happinefs of the 
latter. The fall of a planet from its orbit, in the folar 
fyftem, would probably have a lefs effect upon.the 
other planets, than that of man from the moral fyftem 
upon the other parts of God's intelligent creation. 
And when it is conCdered that man is a member of 
the body dijlinguifhed by fovereign favour, as poffeff- 
ing a nature which the Son of God delighted to hon- 
our, by taking it upo6 himfelf, the intereft which 
the Univerfe at large, may have in his fall and recov- 
ery, may be greatly augmented. The lepvofy of 
Miriam was an event that affected the whole camp 
of Ifrael ; nor did they proceed on their joumies till 
&e was reftored to her fituation : and it is not unnat- 



jn6 Redemption eonfjlent ivith [Part II. 

ural to fuppofe, that fomething analogous to this would 
be the effecl: of the fall and recovery of man on the 
whole creation. 

The happinefs of the redeemed is not the ultimate 
end of Redemption, nor the only happinefs which 
will be produced by it. God is reprefented in the 
Scriptures, as conferring his favours in fuch a way as 
that no creature mail be blefTed merely for his oivnfake y 
but that he might communicate his bleffednefs to others. 
With whatever powers, talents, or advantages we are 
endued, it is not merely for our gratification, but that 
we may contribute to the general good. God gives 
difcernment to the eye, fpeech to the tongue, ftrength 
to the arm, and agility to the feet ; not for the gratifi- 
cation of thefe members, but for the accommodation 
of the body. It is the^fame in other things. God 
hlejfed Abraham •, and wherefore ? That he might be a 
blejftng. He blefTed his pofterity after him ; and for 
what purpofe ? That in them all the nations of the earth 
might be blejfed* Though Ifrael was a nation chofen 
and beloved of God ; yet it was not for their righteouf- 
nefs, nor merely with a view to their happinefs, that 
they were thus diftinguifhed : but that he might per- 
form the, oath which he fivare unto their fathers ;\ the 
fubflance of which was, that the true religion mould 
profper amongft them, and be communicated by them 
to all other nations. The ungodly part of the Jewifh 
nation viewed things, it is true, in a different light : 
they valued themielves as the favourites of Heaven, and 
locked down upon other nations with contemptuous 
diflike. But it was otherwife with the godly ; they 
entered into the fpirit of the promife made to their 
fathers. Hence they prayed that God nvould be merci- 
ful to them, and blefs them y and caufe his face to Jhine upon 
them : to the end that his way might be known 

UPON EARTH, AND HIS SAVING HEALTH AMONG ALL 
NATIONS.^ 

* Gen. xii. 2. xxii. 18. 
f Deut, ix. 5, vii. 7,8. \ PfaL lxvil 



CHAP. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. 177 

The fame fpirit was manifefted by the apoftles and 
primitive Chriftians. They perceived that all that rich 
meafure of gifts and graces by which they were dif- 
tinguifhed was given them with the defign of their 
communicating it to others ; and this was their con- 
itant aim. Paul felt himfelf a debtor both to Jews and 
Greeks, and fpent his life in diffufing the bleffings of 
the gofpel, though in return he was continually treated 
as an evil doer ; and the fame might be faid of the 
other apoftles. 

Nor is this facial principle confined to the prefent 
life. According to Scripture reprefentations the hap- 
pinefs of faints in glory will be conferred on them, not 
that it may flop there, but be communicated to the 
whole moral fyftem. The redemption of the Church 
has already added to the blcfl^dncfs of other holy in- 
telligences. It has furnifhed a new medium by which 
the glory of the divine perfections is beheld and ad- 
mired. To explore the wifdom of God in his works 
is the conltant employment of holy angels, and that in 
which confifts a large proportion of their felicity. 
Prior to the accomplishment of the work of redemp- 
tion, they contemplated the divine character through 
the medium of creation' and providence ; but now 
unto principalities and powers, in heavenly places, is 
known , by the Church, the manifold wifdom of God.* 
And fo much does this laft difplay of divine glory ex- 
ceed all that have gone before it, that thofe who have 
once obtained a view of it through this medium, will 
certainly prefer it to every other : Which things the an- 
gels defire to look itito.f They do not, however, become 
indifferent to any of the divine operations. Creation 
and providence continue to attract their attention, and 
are abundantly more in^refting : they now ftudy them 
according to the order in which they exift in the divine 
mind, that is, in fubferviency to Redemption.^: 

* Ephef. iii. 10. f 1 Pet. i. 12, 

| Col. i, 16, by him, and for him. 



Redemption tcnffieni ivith [Part H, 



But that which is already accomplished, is but fmall 
m comparifon of what is in referve. At the final judg- 
ment, when all the faithful will be collected together, 
they will become a medium through which the Lord 
Jefus will be glorified and admired by the whole crea- 
tion. He Jhall come to be glorified in his faints ; and to be 
admired in all them that believe-— in that day.* It is a 
truth that the faints of God will themfelves glorify and 
admire their great Deliverer, but not the truth of this 
paflage ; the defign of which is to reprefent them as a 
medium through which he fhall be glorified by all the 
friends of God in the univerfe. The great Phyfician 
will appear with his recovered millions ; every one of 
whom will afFerd evidence of his difinterefted love, 
and efficacious blood, to the whole admiring Creation. 

Much the fame ide^s are conveyed to us by thofe 
reprefentations in which the whole creation are either 
called upon to rejoice on account of our Redemption^, 
or defcribed as actually rejoicing and praiiing the Re- 
deemer. Thus David having fpoken of God's mercy 
which was from everlajling to everlajling towards the 
children of men ; addrefies all his works, in all 
PLACES of his DGMINion, to blefs his name.f John 
alfo informs us, faying, / heard the voice of many angels 
round about the throne, and the living creatures, and the 
elders : and the number of them was ten thoufand times ten 
thoufand, and thoufands of thoufands ; faying ivith a loud 
voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was flain to receive power, 
and riches, and wifdom, and flrength, and honour, and 
glory , and blejfing. And every creature which is in heaven, 
and on the earth, and under the earth, and fuch as are in 
the fea, and all that are in them, heard I, faying, B /effing, 
and honour, and glory, and powr*-, be unto him that fitteth 
upon the throne, and unto the L...nb for ever and ever.% 

The phrafeology of thefe pafTages is fuch, that no 
One can reafonably doubt whether the writers intend- 
ed by it to exprefs the whole upright intelligent crea~ 



# t Thffi u I9 t f PCciii, if t Rev, v. ir, ix, 13- 



V 



Chap. V.] the Magnitude of Creation. ijgr 

tion, be it of what extent it may : and if it be of that 
extent which philofophy fuppofes, the greater muft be 
the influence and importance of the work of Redemp* 
tion. 

V. The Scriptures give us to expecl that the earth 
it/elf, as well as its redeemed inhabitants, JJjall at a future 
period be purified, and re-united to the holy empire of God. 

We are taught to pray, and consequently to hope, 
fhat when the kingdom of God (hall universally prevail, 
his willjhall be done on earth as it is now in heaven : # 
but if So, earth itfelf mult become, as it were, a part 
of heaven. 

That we form a clear and comprehensive view of 
Our Lord's words, and of this part of the Subject, be it 
obferved, that the Scriptures Sometimes diftinguifti 
between the kingdom of God, and that of Chri/l. Though 
the object, of both be the triumph of truth and right- 
coufneSs, yet the mode of adminift ration is different. 
The one is natural, the other delegated : the latter 
fe in fubferviency to the former, and (hall be finally Suc- 
ceeded by it. Gmft is reprefented as acling in our 
World by delegation : as if a king had commiffioned his 
ion to go and reduce a certain rebellious province, and 
reftore it to his dominion. The period allotted for this 
Work extends from the time of the revelation of the 
promifed Seed, to the day of judgment. The opera- 
tions are progreffroe. If it had Seemed good in his fight, 
he could have overturned the power of Satan in a fhort 
period ; but his wifdom Saw fit to accomplifh it by de« 
grees. Like the commander of an invading army, he 
firft takes pcffeffion of one poll, then of another, then 
©f a third, and fo on, till by and by the whole country 
ialls into his hands. And as the progrefs of a con- 
queror would be more rapid after a few of the Strong- 
er!: fortreffes had Surrendered, (inaSmuch as things 
would then approach faft to a crifis, to a breaking up ? 



* Matt. vi. 10, 



x8o Redemption confijlent iviiJf [Part IL 

as it were, of the power of the enemy,) fo it has been 
with the kingdom of Chrift, and fuch will be its pro- 
gress before the end of time. In the early ages of the 
world, but little was done. At one time, true religion 
appears to have exifted only in a few families. After- 
wards it affumed a national appearance. After this it 
was addreffed to all nations. And before the clofe of 
time all nations fhall be fubjefted to the obedience of 
Chrift. This fhall be the breaking up of Satan's em- 
pire. Now as on the conqueft of a rebellious province 
the delegated authority of the conqueror would ceafe, 
and the natural government of the empire refume its 
original form ; fo Chrift is reprefented as delivering up 
the kingdom to the Father, that God may be All in AIL 
This is the ultimatum of the Mefliah's kingdom ; and 
this appears to be the object for which he taught his 
difciples to pray. 

As on the conqueft of a rebellious province, fome 
would be pardoned, and others puniftied ; as every 
veftige of rebellion would be effaced, and law, peace 
and order flow in their ancient channels ; fuch a pe«- 
riod might with propriety be termed a rejlitution of all 
things.* Such will be the event of the laft judgment,, 
which is defcribed as the concluding exercjfe of the 
delegated authority of Chrift. 

And as on the conqueft of a rebellious province, and 
the reftitution of peace and order, that province, in- 
ftead of being any longer feparate from the reft of the 
empire, would become a component part of it, and the 
king's will would be done in it, as it had been done 
without interruption in the loyal part of his territories ; 
fuch is the reprefentation given with refpeft to our 
world, and the holy parts of God's dominions. A 
period will arrive when the will of God {hall be done 
on earth as it is now done in heaven. This, however, 
will never be the cafe while any veftige of moral evil 



* Acts iii. 10. 



ChAP. V.} ' the Magnitude of Creation. it l 

t emains. It muft be after the general conflagration ; 
which, though it will deflroy every kind of evil, root 
and branch, that now prevails upon the face of the 
earth, and will terminate the generations of Adam, 
who have poffefled it ; yet will not fo deftroy the earth 
itfelf but that it {hall furvive its fiery trial, and, as I ap- 
prehend, become the everlafting abode of righteoufnefs j 
a part of the holy empire of God. Nor is it, per- 
haps, improbable, that it may ever continue the refort, 
if not the frequent abode of thofe who are redeemed 
from it. An attachment to place we know is at prefent 
deeply implanted in our nature. The inhabitants of 
the moft inhofpitable regions generally love their na- 
tive country, and would not change it for any .other- 
Certain particular places^ where fome of the moft in-- 
terefting events have been tranfa&ed, when vifited at 
fome diftance of time, become a confiderable fource of 
delight. Such was Bethel to Jacob, and Tabor, no 
doubt, to the three difciples. And why may not a 
tiew of Bethlehem, of Gethfemane, of Calvary, and 
ef a thoufand other places where God has appeared 
for us, afford a fource of everlafting enjoyment ? 

However this may be, the Scriptures give us to un- 
derfland, that though the elements fhall melt with fervent 
peat, and the earth, and the works that are therein, fhall be 
burnt up yet, according topromife, we are to look for new 
heavens, and a new earth, wlierein dwelleth righteoufnefs** 
By the new heavens here is plainly to be underftood fo 
much of the elements as fhall have been affected by 
the general conflagration ; and by the new earth, the 
earth after it is purified by it. 

Much to the fame purpofe is the account given to- 
wards the clofe of the Revelation of John. After a 
defcription of the general judgment, it follows, And I 
faw a new heaven, and a new earth : for the firfl heaven 
md the firft earth were pajfed away. And 1 John faw the 

*» Pet, iii, 12,13, 



182 



Redemption confifieni with [Part II. 



Holy City, New Jerufalem, coming down from God out of 
heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her hujband* 
When the earth (hall have become a part of God's holy 
empire, heaven itfelf may then be faid to be come 
down upon it ; feeing all that is now afcribed to the 
one, will be true of the other. Behold the tabernacle of 
God Jhall be with men, and he will dwell with them ; and 
they Jhall be his people, and God himfelf /hall be with them, 
and Jhall be their God. And God Jhall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes : and there Jhall be no more death, neither 
forrow, nor crying, neither Jhall there be any more pain ; 
for the former things /hall be pajfed away. And he that 
fat upon the throne, faid, Behold I make all things new. 
And he faid unto me, Write : for thefe words are true and 
faithful* 

If the great end of Redemption be the re-union of 
this world to the holy empire of God ; and if fuch re- 
union be accompanied with a mutual augmentation 
of bleffednefsj then the importance of the one muft, 
bear fome proportion to the magnitude of the other. 
Upon any fyftem of philofophy, Redemption is great ; 
but upon that which fo amazingly magnifies intelligent; 
creation, it muft be great beyond expreflion. 

VI. The Scriptures reprefent the pumjhment of the final- 
ly impenitent as appointed for an example to. the refl of the, 
creation. 

Sodom and Gomorrha, and. the cities about them, in giv-t 
ing them] elves over to fornication, and going after Jlrange 
fijh, are fet forth for AN example, Juffiring the ven- 
geance of eternal fire. And her fmoke (the fmoke of Bab- 
ylon) rofe up for ever and ever. And the four and twen* 
ty elders, and the four living creatures fell down and wor- 
Jhipped God that fat on the throne, faying, Amen Alleluia, f 

The miferies of the damned are never reprefented 
as inflicted upon them from {uch a kind of wrath or 
vengeance as bears no relation to the general good.. 
God is love ; and in none of his proceedings does he 



* Rev. xxi. I — 5. 



f Judc 7. Rev. xix. 3, 4. 



Chap. V~.] the Magnitude of Creation. 



violate this principle, or lofe fight of the well-being oS 
creation in general. The manifeftation of his glory is., 
not only infeparably connected with this object, but 
confifts in accomplishing it. 

It is. neceflary for the general good that God's ab* 
horrence of moral evil mould be marked hy forr.e ilrong 
and. durable expreflion of it; fo that no one fubjett 
of his empire can overlook it. Such an expreflion was 
the death of Chrift, his. only begotten Son : and this 
availethon behalf of all who acquiefce in his falvation : 
but all who do not, or who poffefs not fuch a temper 
of heart as would acquiefce in , it if it were prefented 
to them, muft themfelves be made facrifices to his 
juftice ; and fo like enemies and traitors to a\ human 
government, muft be made to anfwer fuch an end by 
their death as {hall counteract the ill example afforded 
by their life. What is faid of the barren vine is ap- 
plicable to the finally. impenitent : It k not fit for any 
iuork — it is good for nothing but to be burned if The only 
way in which they promote the general good is by their 
overthrow : like the cenfers of Korah and his com- 
pany, which were made into broad plates for a covering 
to the altar ; that they might be a fign to the children of 
Ifrael in future generations *,f or like Lot's wife, who 
was. converted into a pillar of fait, ox % lafting monu-c 
ment of divine difpleafure ! 

If the grand end. of future punifhment be example, 
this, muft fuppofe the exiftence of an intelligent crea- 
tion, who {hall profit by it ; and it mould feem of a cre- 
ation of magnitude ; as it accords with the conduct of 
neither God nor man to pur.ilh a great number for an 
example to a few. 

This truth affords a fatisfactory idea of the divine 
government, whether there be a multiplicity of inhabit- 
ed worlds or not ; but if there be, it is {till more fatis- 
factory ; as on this f apportion the number of thofe 
who {hall be finally loft may bear far lefs proportion 



* Ezck. 27. %— -5. 



I Numb, xvj, 38, 



2 $4 Refcapthn cmjtjhnt withy Bee. [Fart IL 



to the whole of the intelligent creation, than a Tingle 
execution to the inhabitants of a great empire. It is 
true, the lofs to thofe who are loft, will be nothing 
abated by this confederation ; perhaps, on the contrary,, 
it may be augmented y and to them the divine govern- 
ment wiH ever appear gloomy : but to thofe who judge 
of things impartially, and upon an cxtenfive fcale, it 
will appear to contain no more of a difparagement to 
the government of the univerfe, than the execution of 
a murderer, once in a hundred years, would be to the 
government of a nation, 

And now, I appeal to the intelligent the ferious and 
the candid reader, whether there be any truth in what 
Mr. Paine afierts, that to admit " that God created a 
" plurality of worlds, at leaft as numerous as what we 
" call (tars, renders the Chriftian fyftem of faith at 
"once little and ridiculous,. and fcatters-it in the mind 
" like feathers in the air." On the contrary, it might 
be proved that every fyftem of philofophy isiittle in 
comparifon of Chriftianity. Philofophy may expand 
our ideas of creation ; but it neither infpires a love to 
the tmral charact er of the Creator, nor a well-ground- 
ed hope of eternal life. Philofophy, at moft, can only 
place us upon the top of Pifgah : there, like Mofes, we 
muil die. It gives no poiTeffion of the good land: it- 
is the province of Chriftianity to add, all is your's ! 
When you have afcended to the height of human dif- 
covery, there are things, and things of infinite moment 
too, that are utterly beyond its reach. Revelation is 
the medium, and the only medium, by which, (landing, 
as it were, " on nature's Alps," we difcover things 
which eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, and of which 
k hath never entered into the heart of maivto conceive. 



CONCLUDING ADDRESSES, 

TO 

Deifts, Jews, and Chriftians. 



WHETHER the writer of thefe Jheets can jujlly hope 
that what he advances will attracl the attention of unbe- 
lievers , he does not pretend to - fay. If however, it fhould 
fall into the hands of individuals amongjl them, he earneflly 
entreats that, for their own fakes,, they would attend to 
what follows,, with ferioufnefs. 



TO DEISTS; 
Felkw-Men $ 

It is hoped that nothing in the preceding pages can 
be fairly conftrued into a want of good will towards 
any of you. If I know my heart, it is not you, but 
your mifchievous principles that are the objects of my 
diflike. 

In the former part of this performance I have en- 
deavoured to prove, that the fyftem which you em- 
brace, overlooks the moral character of God, refufes 
to worfhip him, affords no ftandard of right and wrong* 
undermines the mod efficacious motives to virtuous 
action, actually produces a torrent of vice, and leaves 
mankind under all their miferies, to perifti without 
hope ; in fine, that it is an immoral fyftem, pregnant 
with deftruction to the human race. Unlefs you be 
able to overturn what is there advanced, or, at leaft, be 
confeious that it is not true with regard to yourfelves> 



j 86' Addrefs to Delfts. 

.." - \ 

you have reafon to be ferioufly alarmed. To embrace" 
a fyftem of immorality is the fame thing as to be ene- 
mies to all righteoufnefs ; neither to fear God, nor 
regard man 5 and what good fruit you can expect to 
reap from it, in this world or another, it is difficult to 
conceive. But, alas, inftead of being, alarmed at the 
immorality of your principles^ is there no reafon to 
fufpecl that it is on this very account you cberifh them? 
You can occafionally praife the morality of Jefus Chrift : 
but are you fmeere ?■ Why then do you not walk by it ? 
However you may magnify other difficulties, which- 
you have induftrioufly laboured to difcover in the Bi- 
ble, your actions declare that it is the holinefs of its 
doctrines and precepts, that more than any thing elfe 
offends you; The manifeft object at which you aim, 
both for yourfelves and the world, is an exemption 
from its reftraints. Your general conduct, if put in- 
to w r ords, amounts to this — Come let us break his bands 3 
mid cajl away his cords from us. 

Circumstances, of late years, have much favoured 
your defign. Your party has gained the afcendancy 
in a great nation, and has been confequently increas- 
ing in other nations. Hence it is* perhaps, that your 
{pirits are raifed, and that a higher tone is aflumed m 
your fpeeches and writings than has been ufual on for- 
mer occafions. You are great, you are enlightened / 
yes, you have found out the fecret, and have only to 
rid the world of Ghriftianity in order to render it happy. 
But be not too .confident. You are not the firft wno 
have fet themfelves againft the Lord, and againft his 
anointed. You have overthrown fuperftition ; but 
vaunt not againft Chriftianity. Of a truth you have 
deftroyed the gods of Rome, for they were no gods % 
but let this fuffice you. It is hard to kick againft the 
pricks. 

Whatever fuccefs may attend your caufe, if it be 
an immoral one, and efpoufed on that very account, it* 
cannot poffibly ftand. It rauft fall, and you muft 
expect to be buried in its ruins. It may be thought 



Addrefs to Deifts. 



Sufficient for me to reafon on the fyftem itfelf, without 
descending to the motives of thofe who imbibe it ; but 
where motives are manifefted by actions, they become 
objects of human cognizance. Nor is there any hope 
of your unbelief being removed, but by fomething that 
fnali reach the caufe of it. My defire is neither to in- 
fult nor flatter, but ferioufly to expoflulate with you ; 
if God peradventure may give you repentance to the 
acknowledgment of the truth. Three things, in par- 
ticular, I would earneftly recommend to your ferious 
jconfideration. 

How it was that you nrft imbibed your prefent 
principles : How it is that almoft all your writers, at 
one time or other, bear teftimony in favour of Chrif- 
tianity ; and How it ; omes to pafs that your principles 
fail you, as they are frequently known to do, in a dy- 
ing hour. 

Firft — How was it that you first renounced 
Christianity, and imbibed your present princi- 
ples ? Retrace the procefs of your minds, and afk your 
confeiences as you proceed, whether all was fair and 
upright. Nothing is more common than for perfons 
of relaxed morals to attribute their change of conduct: 
to a change of fentiments, or views relative to thofe 
fubjects. It is galling to one's own feelings, and mean 
in the account of others, to acl againjl principle : but if 
£ perfon can once perfuade himfelf to think favourably 
of thofe things which he has formerly accounted fin- 
ful, and can furnifh a plea for them, which, at leaft, 
may ferve to parry the cenfures of mankind, he will 
feel much more at eafe, and be able to put on a better 
face when he mingles in fociety. Whatever inward 
ftings may annoy his peace under certain occafional 
qualms, yet he has not to reproach himfelf, nor can 
others reproach him with that inconfiftency of char- 
acter as in former inftances. Rouffeau confeffes he 
found in the reaf jnings of a certain lady, with whom 
he lived in the greateft poflible familiarity, all thofe 
ideas which he had occafion for — Have you not found 
the fame in the cooverfation and writings of deifts ? 



Addrefs to Deip. 



Did you not, previous, to your rejection of Chriftiani- 
ty, indulge in vicious courfes,; and, while indulging 
in thefe courfes, did not its holy precepts, and awful 
threatenings gall your fpirits ? Were you not like per- 
fons gathering forbidden fruit amidil fhowers of ar- 
rows ; and had you not recourfe to your prefent prin- 
ciples for a fhield againft them ? If you cannot honeft- 
]y anfwer thefe queftions in the negative, you are in 
an evil cafe. You may flatter yourfelves for a while 
that perhaps there may be no hereafter, or at leaft no 
judgment to come ; but you know the time is not far 
diftant when you mult go and fee 3 and then, if you 
{hould be miftaken, What will you do ? 

Many of you have descended from godly parents, 
and have had a religious education. Has not your in- 
fidelity arifen from the diflike which you conceived in 
early life to religious exercifes ? Family worihip was 
a wearinefs to you ; and the cautions, warnings, and 
counfels which were given you, inftead of having any 
proper effect, only irritated your corruptions. You 
longed to be from under ihe yoke. Since that time, 
your parents, it may be, have been removed by death ; 
or if they live, they may have loft their controul over 
you. So, now you are free. But ftill fomething is 
wanting to erafe the prejudices of education, which, in 
fpite of all your efforts, will accompany you, and em- 
bitter your prefent purfuits. For this purpofe a friend 
puts into your hands The Age of Reafcn, or fome pro- 
duction of the kind. You read it with avidity. This is 
the very thing you wanted. You have long fufpected 
the truth of Chriftianity ; but had not courage to op- 
pofe it. Now then you are a philofopher ; yes, a phi- 
losopher ! — < Our fathers/ fay you, £ might be well- 

* meaning people, but they were impofed upon by 

* priefts. The world gets more enlightened now-a- 
' days. There is no need of fuch rigidnefs. The 

* Supreme Being (if there be one) can never have cre- 

* ated the pleafures of life, but for the purpofe of en- 
« joyment. Avaunt, ys felf-denying cafuifts ! Nature 

* is the law of man !' 



Addrejs to Dejfts. 



189 



"Was not this, or fomething nearly refembling it, the 
procefs of your minds ? And are you now fatisfied ? 
I do not aflc whether you have been able to defend 
your caufe againft aflailants, nor whether you have 
gained converts to your way of thinking : you may 
have done both ; but are you fatisfied with yourfelves ? 
Do you really believe yourfelves to be in the right 
way ? Have you no mifgivings of heart ? Is there not 
fomething within you, which occasionally whifpers, 
« My parents were righteous, and I am wicked : O 
< that my foul were in their fouls' ftead !' 

Ah, young men ! If fuch be the occafional revolt- 
ings of your mind, what are you doing in labouring to 
gain others over to your way of thinking ? Can you, 
from experience, honeftly promife them peace of mind ? 
Can you go about to perfuade them that there is no 
•hell, when, if , you would fpeak the truth, you muft ac- 
knowledge that you have already an earned of it kin- 
kled in your bofoms ? If counfeJs were not left upon 
you, I wouid entreat you to be contented with deftroy- 
ing your own fouls. Have pity on your fellow- crea- 
tures, if you have none upon yourfelves ? Nay, fpare 
yourfelves fo much, at leaft, as not to incur the everlaft- 
ing execrations of your mod intimate acquaintance. 
If Chriftianity mould prove, what your conferences, in 
your mod ferious moments, tell you it is, you are do- 
ing this, every day of your lives. 

Secondly — Confider how it is that almost all 

TOUR WRITERS, AT ONE TIME OR OTHER, BEAR TES- 
TIMONY in favour of Christianity. It were eafy 
to collect, from thofe very writings which were defign- 
ed to undermine the Chriftian religion, hundreds of 
teftimonies in its favour. Voltaire and RoufTeau, as 
we have feen already,* have, in their fits, gone far to- 
wards contradicting all which they have written againfl 
it. Bolingbroke has done the fame. Such fentences 
as the following may be found in his publications : 
" Suppofing Chriftianity to have been a human in- 

* Part II. Chap. III. p. 13a, 133. 

R 



Addrefs to Delfts, 



( < vention, it has been the moil amiable invention 
" that was ever impofed on mankind for their good. — 
<£ Chriftianity, as it came out of the hand of God, if I 
€( may ufe the expreffion, was a moft fimpie and intelli- 
<( gible rule of belief, worfhip, and manners, which is 
" the true notion of a religion. The gofpel is, in all 
« c cafes, one continued leflbn of the ftridteft morality, 
« of juitice, of benevolence, and of univerfal charity."* 
Paine, perhaps, has faid as little in this way as any of 
your writers, yet he has profeffed a refpect for the 
character of Jefus Chrift. " He was/' fays he, " a 
** virtuous and an amiable man. The morality that 
" he preached and pra&ifed was of the moft benevo- 
« lent kind."f 

In what manner will you go about to account for 
thefe conceffions ? Chriftian writers, thofe at leaft 
who are fincerely attached to the caufe, are not feized 
with thefe fits of inconfiftency. How is it that yours, 
like the worfhippers of Baal, Ihculd thus be continual- 
ly cutting themfelves with knives ? — You muft either 
give up your leaders as a fet of men, who, while they 
were labouring to perfuade the world of the hypocrify 
of priefts, were themfelves the mod infamous of all 
hypocrites ; or, which will be equally fatal to your 
caufe, you muft attribute it to occafional convictions, 
which they felt and exprefTed, though contrary to the 
general ftrain of their writings. Is it not an unfavour- 
able character of your caufe, that, in this particular, it 
exactly refembles that of vice itfelf ? Vicious men will 
often bear teftimony in favour of virtue, efpecially on 
the near approach of death ; but virtuous men never 
return the compliment by bearing teftimony in favour 
of vice. We are not afraid of Chriftians thus betray- 
ing their caufe but neither your writers, nor your 
ccnfciences, are to be traded in a ferious hour. 

Thirdly — Confider how it comes to pass that 

YOUR PRINCIPLES FAIL YOU, AS THEY ARE FREQUENT* 

* Works, Vol. IV. p. 394, 395. "Vol. V. p. 188, 189. 
f Age of Reafon, Part I. p. 5. 



Addrefs to Deifls. 



LY KNOWN TO DO, IN A DYING HOUR ? It IS a rule 

with wife men J% /& to live as they Jball tvijh they had> when 
they come to die. How do you fuppofe you (hall wifli 
you had lived in that day r — Look at the deaths of 
your greateft men, and fee what their principles have 
done for them at laft. Mark the end of that apoftJe 
and high pried of your profeflion, Voltaire •, and try 
if you can find in it either integrity, or hope, or any- 
thing that mould render it an object of envy.* Why 
is it that fo many of you faint in the day of trial ? If 
your caufe were good, you would defend it with up- 
rightness, and die with inward fat isf action. But is it 
fo ? Mr. Paine flatters himfelf that his principles will 
bear him up in the profpedt of death. ;f and it is poili- 
ble that he may brave it out in fome fuch manner as 
David Hume did. Such inftances, however, are rare. 
For one unbeliever that maintains his courage, many 
might be produced whofe hearts have failed them, and 
who have trembled for the confequences of their in- 
fidelity. 

On the other hand, you cannot produce a {ingle in- 
{lance _of a Chriftian, who, at the approach of 

DEATH, WAS TROUBLED, OR TERRIFIED IN HIS CON- 
SCIENCE FOR HAVING BEEN A CHRISTIAN. Many haVC 

* The following particulars, among many others, are recorded 
of this writer by his Biographer Condoreet, a man after his own. 
heart. Firft — That he co-nceived the deftgn of overturning the 
Chriftian religion ; and that by his own hand. M I am wearied," 
laid he. " of hearing it repeated that twelve men were fufhcient to 
" eftablifh Chriftianity ; and I wifh to prove there needs but one to 
" deftroy it." Secondly — That in purfuit of this object he was 
threatened with a perfecution, to avoid which, he received the fa~ 
crament, and publickly declared his refpedl for the church, and hi* 
difdain of his detractors, namely, thofe who had called in queftion 
his Chriftianity ! Thirdly—That in his laft ilinefs, in Paris, being 
detirous of obtaining what is called Chriftian burial, he fent for a 
pneft, to whom he declared, that he " died in the Catholic faith, in 
«' which he was born." Fourthly — That another prieft (curate of 
the pariih) troubled him with queftions. Among other things he 
aiked, " Do you believe the divinity of Jefus Chrift ?" — " In the 
«* name of God, Sir," replied Voltaire, " ipeak to me no more of 
tf that man, but let me die in peace." 



f Age of Reafon, Part II. Pref. 



192 



Addrefs to Dejfts. 



been afraid, in that day, left their faith in Chrift mould 
net prove genuine ; but who that has put his truft in 
him, was ever known to be apprehenfive left he mould 
at laft deceive him ? Can you account for this differ- 
ence ? If you have difecvered the true religion, and 
ours be all fabie and impofture, how comes it to pafs 
that the iiTue of things is what it is ? Do gold, and 
filver, and precious ftones perifh in the fire 5 and do 
wood, and hay, and flubble endure it ? 

I ha\e admitted that Mr. Paine may polTihly brave 
it out till the laft j but if he does, his courage may be 
merely affurned. Pride will induce men to difguife 
the genuine feelings of their hearts, on more occafions 
than one. We hear much of courage among dueliifts ; 
but little credit is due to what they fay, if, while the 
words proceed from their lips, we fee them approach 
each other with palenefs and trembling. Yea more, 
if Mr. Paine's courage in death be not different from 
what it already is in the profpecl of it, it certainty will 
be merely affumed. He has given full proof of what 
his courage amounts to in what he has advanced on 
the certainty of a future ftate. He acknowledges the 
pombility of a future judgment : yea, he admits it to 
be rational to believe that there will be one. " The 
" power," he fays, " that called us into being, can, if 
" he pleafe, and when he pleafes, call us to account 
" for the manner in which we have lived here ; and, 
M therefore, without feeking any further motive for 
" the belief, it is rational to believe that he will, for 
" we know beforehand that he can."* I mail not 
flop to inquire into the juftnefs of Mr. Paine's reafon- 
ing from what God can do to what he will do : it is 
fufneient for me that he admits it to be " rational to 
<f believe that God will call men to account for the 
" manner in which they have lived here." And can 
he admit this truth, and not tremble ? Mark his firm- 
nefs. After acknowledging that a future judgment is 
the object of rational beliefs he retraces what he has faid 



* Age of Reafcn, Part IL p. ico. 



Addfefs to Dei/Is. 193 

by reducing it to only a probability^ which is to have the 
influence of belief: — Yea, as if that were too terrible 
an idea, he brings it down to a mere pojjibtlity. The 
reafon which he gives for thefe reductions is, that « If 
** we knew it as a fact, we fhould be the mere Jlaves 
w of terror." Indeed ? But wherefore ? Chriftians be- 
lieve in a judgment to come, and they are not the flaves 
of terror. They have an Advocate as well as a Judge, 
by believing in whom the terror of judgment is re- 
moved. And though Mr. Paine rejects this ground 
of confolation, yet if things be as he has reprefented 
them, I do not perceive why he mould be terrified. 
He writes as though he flood on a very refpeclable 
footing with his Creator ; he is not " an outcaft, a 
u beggar, or a worm j" he needs no Mediator : no in- 
deed ! He " (lands in the fame relative condition with 
his Maker he ever did (land fince man exifted."*. 
Very well ; of what then is he afraid ? — " God is 
« good, and will exceed the very bed of us in good- 
" nefs." On this ground Lord Shaftefbury allures 
us, M Dents can have no dread or fufpicion to render 
" them uneafy : for it is malice only, and not good- 
* s nefs, which can make them afraid."f Very well, I 
fay again, of what then is Mr. Paine afraid ? If a Be- 
ing full of goodnefs will not hurt him, he will not be 
hurt. Why mould he be terrified at a certain hereaf- 
ter ? Why not meet his Creator with cheerfulnefs, and 
confidence ? Inftead of this, he knows of no method 
by which he may be exempted from terror , but that of 
reducing future judgment to a mere poffibility : leaving 
room for fome faint hope, at leaft, that what he pro- 
feffes to believe as true, may in the end prove falfe. 
Such is the courage of your bluftering hero. Unhap- 
py man ! Unhappy people 1 Your principles w,ill not 
fupport you in death, nor fo much as in the contem- 
plation of a hereafter. 

R 2 



* Age of Reafon, Part I. p. 31, 
t Charaa&riftics, Vol, i. § 5. 



194 



Addrefs to Deijfa 



Let Mr. Paitie's hypothefis be admitted, and that in 
its lowed form, that there is only a pojfibility of a judg- 
ment to come, this is fufficient to evince your folly, 
and if you thought on the fubjett, to deftroy your 
peace. This alone has induced many of you, in your 
laft moments, to wifh that you had lived like Chrif- 
tians. If it be poflible that there may be a judgment 
to come, why fhould it not be equally poflible that 
Chriftianity itfelf may be true ? And if it fhouid, on 
what ground do you Hand ? If it be otherwife, Chris- 
tians have nothing to fear. While they are taught to 
deny ungodlinefs, and worldly lulls, and to live fober- 
Ty, righteoufly, and godly in this prefent world, what- 
ever may prove true with refpec~t to another, it is pre- 
% fumed they are fafe : but if that Saviour whom you have 
defpifed fhould be indeed the Son of God j if that 
name which you have blafphemed mould be the only 
one given under heaven, and among men, by which 
you can be faved ; what a fituation muft you be in ! 
You may wifh at prefent not to be told of him •, yea, 
even in death, it may be a vexation, as it was to Yol- 
-taire, to hear of him ; but hear of him you muft, and 
what is more, you muft appear before him. 

I cannot conclude this addrefs without exprefllng 
my earned defire for your falvation ; and whether you 
will hear, or whether you will forbear, reminding you 
that our Redeemer is merciful. He can have compaf- 
fion on the ignorant, and them who are out of the way. 
The door of mercy is not yet fhut. At prefent you 
are invited, and even entreated to enter in. But if you 
ftill continue hardened againft him, you may find, to 
your coft, that the abufe of mercy gives an edge to 
juftice ; and that to be crufyed to atoms by falling 
rocks, or buried in oblivion at the bottom of moun- 
tains, were rather to be chofen than an expofure to 
the wrath of the Lamb, 



TO THE JEWS. 



Beloved for the fathers' fakes ! 

He whom you have long rejected, looked upon Jeru- 
falem, and wept over it. With tears he pronounced 
upon that once famous city, a doom, which, according 
to your own writer, Jofephus, was foon after accom- 
plished. In imitation of our Lord and Saviour we 
alfo could weep over your prefent fituation. There 
are thoufands in Britain, as well as 'in other nations, 
whofe daily prayer is, that you may be faved. Hear 
me patiently, and candidly. Your prefent and ever- 
lafting good is the object of my defire. 

It is not my defign in this brief addrefs to go over 
the various topics in difpute between us. Many have 
engaged in this work, and, I hope, to fome good pur- 
pose. The late addreffes to you, both from the pulpit 
and the prefs, as they were dictated by pure benevo- 
lence, certainly deferve, and, I truft, have gained, in 
fome degree, your candid attention. All that I {hall 
fay will be. comprifed in a few fuggeftions, which I 
fuppofe to arife from the fubjecl: of the preceding 
pages. 

You have long fojourned among men v/ho have been 
called Chriftians. You have feen much evil in them \ 
and they have feen much in you. The hiftory of your 
own nation, and that of every other, confirms one of 
the leading doctrines of both your and our Scriptures, 
the depravity of human nature. But in your commerce 
with mankind, you muft have had opportunity of dif- 
tinguifhing between nominal and ferious Chriftians, 
Great numbers in your nation, even in its beft days, 
were wicked men j and great numbers in every nation, 
at prefent, are the fame. But can ycu not perceive 
a people fcattered through various denominations of 
Chriftians, who fear God, and regard man ; who, in- 
ftead of treating you with a haughty contempt, as be- 



196 



Addrefs to the Jews. 



£ng ftrangers fcattered among the nations, difcover a 
tender regard towards you on that very account ; who, 
while they are grieved for the hardnefs of your hearts, 
and hurt at your fcornful rejection of Him whom their 
foul loveth, are neverthelefs ardently defirous of your 
faivation ? Are you not acquainted with Chriftians 
whofe utmoft revenge, if they could have their will of 
you, for all your hard fpeeches, would be to be inftru- 
mental in turning you from what they believe to be 
the power of Satan unto God ? 

Let me farther appeal to you, Whether Chriftians 
of this description be not the true children of Abra- 
ham, the true fuccefibrs of your patriarchs and prophets, 
rather than thofe of an oppofiie fpirit, though literally 
defcended from their loins. You muft be aware, that, 
even in the times of David, a genuine Ifraelite was a 
man of a pure heart ; and in the times of the prophets, 
apoftate Ifraelites were accounted as Ethiopians * 
Your anceftors were men of whom the world was 
not worthy : but where will you now look for fuch 
characters among you as Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob ; 
as Samuel, David, Hezekiah, and Jofiah ; as Daniel, 
Ezra, Nehemiah, and many others ? While you gar- 
nifn their fepulchres, have you not manifeftly loft their 
fpirit ? This is a fact that ought to alarm you, and lead 
you ferioufly to examine whether you have not for- 
faken their faith. There is one thing which has par- 
ticularly ftruck my mind, and which I would earneftly 
recommend to your confideration, namely, the temper 
of modem infidels towards your fathers, towards you, and 
towards us. 

You need not be told that deiftical writers invaria- 
bly treat your fathers with fcorn and diflike. Juft as 
Appion, and other Greek writers, poured contempt 
upon your nation ; juft as the more ancient Moabites 
reproached, and proudly magnified themf elves aguinjl the 
people of the Lord of Hfis ;f fo do all our modern in- 



* pfal, Ixxiii, 1. Amos a. 7. 



f Zeph t ii. io. 



Addrefs to the Jews* 



*97 



fidels. But from the time that your fathers rejected 
Him in whom we believe as the Lord Mefliah, though 
you have been expofed to the chaftifements of heaven, 
and to much injurious treatment from pretended Chrif- 
tians yet deifts, the common enemies of revelation, 
have been, comparatively fpeaking, reconciled to you. 
So, however, it appears to me. I do not recollect to 
have met with a fmgle reflection upon you in any of 
their writings. On the contrary, they feem to feel 
themfelves near akin to you. Your enmity to Jefus 
feems to be the price of their forgivenefs : like Herod 
and Pontius Pilate, you became friends in the day of 
his crucifixion. Mr. Paine, though his writings 
abound in fneers againil your nation, prior to its re- 
jection of Chrift, yet appears to be well reconciled to 
you, and willing to admit your lame account of the 
body of Jefus being ftolen away.* Ought you not to 
be alarmed at thefe things ? Serioufly examine whethw 
er you have not forfaken the God of your fathers, and 
become the friends and allies of them who hate both 
Him and them. 

The hatred of infidels has long been transferred 
from you to us. Whether, in the language of the 
New Teftament, we be the true children of Abraham 
or not, we inherit that reproach and diflike from un- 
believers which was heretofore the portion of the godly 
Ifraeiites. On what account were your fathers hated 
by the practical atheiits of their day ? Was it not be- 
caufe of their devotednefs to God ? It was this in David 
that provoked the refentment of the children of Belial, 
and rendered them his determined enemies. They 
were continually jeering at his prayers, his tears, and 
his trujl in Jehovah *, turning that which, in reality, 
was his glory into flame ; and afflicting him in his af- 
fliction, by fcornfuily inquiring, Where is thy God ?f 
Such is the treatment which the godly part of your na-« 

* Age of Reafon, Part I. p. 6, 7. 
f Pfal. xxii. %. iv. 3. xlii. 3. xxxi, J 8. xl. ij» 



Addrefs to the Jews. 



tion received in all ages, both from heathens abroad, 
and impious characters at home j* and fuch is the 
treatment which ferious Chriftians continue to receive 
from ungodly men to this day : but are you hated and 
reproached on this account ? 

Of late years it has been frequently pleaded, that 
the principal objections to your embracing the Chrif- 
tian religion are found in the doctrines of the Trinity, 
the deity of Chrift, and atonement by his death ; doc- 
trines which the greater part of Chriftians hold to be 
taught in the New Teftament. But thofe who impute 
your conduct: to thefe caufes, muft have nearly as mean 
an opinion of your rationality as they have of ours ; 
with whom they fay, " there is no reafoning ; and that 
" we are to be pitied, and confidered as under debility 
« of mind in one refpect, however fenfible and ration- 
" al in others."f What have the principles, which, 
in our judgment, are taught in the New Teftament, 
to do with your acknowledging Jefus to be the Mef- 
fiah, and the Chriftian religion to be of God J Let 
thefe pofitions be admitted, and examine the New 
Teftament for yourfelves. If you were not confidered 
as poiTeffing a fufficient degree of good fenfe to diftin- 
guifh between Chriftianity and the creed of any par- 
ticular party of Chriftians, it is furprifing that rationed 
Chriftians mould think of writing addreffes to you. 
For our parts we could almoft be fatisfied that you 
fhould decide the controverfy, whether the doctrines 
before mentioned be taught in the New Teftament, or 
not ? As to removing thefe ftumbling-blocks, as fome 
call them, out of your way, we have no inclination to 
attempt it. Only imbibe the fpirit of your anceftors, 
and they will prefently ceafe to be ftumblrng-blocks. 
Believe Moles, and you will believe Jefus ; and believ- 
ing jefus, neither his claiming to be the Son of God, 
and confequently equal with God y nor his infifting upon 

* PfaJ. lxxlx. 10. cxv. 2. Joel ii. 17. Mic. vii. 8, 9, 10. IfaL 

lxvi. 5. 

f Lindfey's Catechifb, Inquiry 6. 



jfddrefs to the Jews. 



199 



hisfefh being the life of the world, will offend you. On 
the contrary, whenever the fpirit of grace, and of fup- 
plications, is poured out upon you, and you come to 
look on Him whom you have pierced, and mourn, you 
will join in the worfhip of him ; and the doctrine of 
atonement, by his death, will be to you a fountain fet 
open for fin and uncleannefs.* 

You live in expectation of being reftored to your 
own land. We expect the fame thing, and rejoice in 
the belief of it. The Old and the New Teftaments 
agree in predicting it.f But the fame prophets that 
have foretold your return to Cartaan, have alfo fore- 
told that you mult be brought to repent of your fins, and 
to feek Jehovah your God, and David your hing.\ Your 
holy land will avail you but little, unlefs you be a holy 
people. 

Finally — You admit, I fuppcfe, that though we 
Ihould err in believing Jefus to be the MeiFiah ; yet 
while we deny ungodlinefs and worldly lulls, and live 
foberly, righteouily, and godiy in this prefent world, it 
is an error that may not affect our eternal falvation : 
but if the error be on your fide, on what ground do 
you (land ? Your fathers, in this cafe, were murderers 
of the Prince of Life ; and by adopting their princi- 
ples, you make the deed your own. His blood lies 
upon you, and upon your children. The terrible de- 
duction of your city by the Romans, and the hard- 
nefs of heart to which you have been given up, are 
fymptoms of that wrath which is come upon you to 
the utterrnoft. Repent and believe the gofpei, that 
you may efcape the wrath to come i 

* Zech. xii. 10 — 14. xiii. r. 
f Eztk. xxxvii, Luke xii. 34. J Hof. iii. 5. 



TO CHRISTIANS. 



Beloved Brethren I 

It is witnefled of David that he ferved the will of Go 
in his generation. Every generation has its peculiar 
■work. The prefent age is diftinguifhed, you know, 
by the progrefs of infidelity. We have long been ex- 
empted from perfecution \ and he whofe fan is in his 
hand, perceiving his floor to Hand in need of purging, 
feems determined, by new trials, to purge it. The 
prefent is a winnowing time. If we wifh to ferve the 
will of God in it, we muft carefully attend to thofe 
duties which fuch a ftate of things impofes upon us. 

In the firft place, Let us look well to the fmcerity of 
cur hearts ; and fee to it that our Chrifianity is vital, 
pratlical, and decided. An army called to engage after 
a long peace, requires to be examined, and every one 
Should examine himfelf. Many become foldiers when 
danger is at a diftance. The mighty hoft of Midian- 
ites were overcome by a felec~ted band. A proclama- 
tion was iflued through the army of Ifrael, " Whofo- 
ft ever is fearful and afraid, let him return :" and after 
a great dimunition from cowardice, the reft muft be 
brought down to the water, to be tried. Such, or 
pearly fuch, may be the trials of the Church ; thofe 
who overcome may be reduced to a fmall company in 
comparifon of thofe who have borne the Chriftian 
name. So indeed the Scriptures inform us : They 
that obtain the victory with Chrift are called, and 
chofen, and faithful.* 

* The manner in which things, of late ages, have 
moved on in the religious world has been fuch as to 
admit-'of a large outer-court, if I may fo fpeak, for a j 
fort of half-worfhippers. A general religious reputa- 
tion has been hitherto obtained at a fmall expenfe, I 



* Rev. xvii, 14. 



Addrefs to Chr'ijlians. 



20T 



But mould infidelity' prevail throughout Chriftendom, 
as it has in France, the nominal extent of the Chriftian 
Church will be greatly reduced. In taking its dimen- 
fions, the outer-court will, as it were, be left out, and 
given to the Gentiles. In this cafe you muft come 
in, or keep out ; be one thing, or another; a decided 
friend of Chrift, or an avowed infidel. It is pofiible 
that the time may come, when all parties will be re- 
duced, in effect, to two, believers and unbelievers. 

" Never," fays a late mafterly and moving writer, 
" were times more eventful and critical," than at 
prefent ; « never were appearances more lingular and 
■ interefting, in the political, cr in the religious world. 
H You behold, on the one hand, infidelity, with dread- 
« ful irruption, extending its ravages far and wide ; 
6 and on the other, an amazing acceflion of zeal and 
I activity to the caufe of Chriftiantty. Error, in all 
Ju its forms, is affiduoufly and fuccefsfully propagated j 
« but the progrefs of evangelical truth is alfo great. 
" The number of the apparently neutral party daily 
" diminishes ; and men are now either becoming wor- 
" fhippers of the God and Father of our Lord Jefus 
• Chrift, or receding faft through the mifts of fcepti- 
i( cifm into the dreary regions of fpeculative and prac- 
" tical atheifm. It feems as if Chriftianity and infi- 
B delity were muftering each the hofl cf the battle, 
" and preparing for fome great day of God. The 
" enemy is come in like a flood : but the Spirit cf the 
" Lord hafh lifted up a flandard againft him. Who, 
" then is on the Lord's fide ? Who ? — Let him come 
" forth to the help of the Lord, to the help of the 
Pf Lord againft the mighty !" # 

Secondly — Let a good underjlanding be cultivated a- 
tnong Jinctre Chr'ijlians of different denominations. Let 
the friends of Chrift know one another ; and let not 
flighter fhades of difference keep them at variance. 
The enemies cf Chrutianity know how to avail them- 

5 " . - * 

j Ferrier's Two Difcourfes at Paifley, in June, 1798. 

s 



202 



- Addrefs to Chriftians. 



Selves of our difcords. The union which is here retf 
ommended-, however, is not a merely nominal on 
much lefs one that requires a facrifice of principl 
Let us unite fo far as we can acl: in concert, in pr 
moling the intereft of Chrift ; and hold ourfelves ope 
to conviction with regard to other things. Let n 
the free difcuflion of our differences be laid afide, 
any fuch connexion formed as fhall require it : on 
let them be conducted with modeftyj franknefs, a 
candour, and the godly will find their account i 
them. Let it be the great concern of all, net f< 
much to maintain their own peculiarities,' as to kno 
and pra£tife the truth : not fo much to yield, an 
come nearer to other denominations, as to approxi- 
mate towards the mind of Chrift. The mind of Chrift % 
as expreffed in his doctrines and precepts, muft be 
the central point in which we meet : as we approach 
this, we mall come nearer to each other. So much 
agreement as there is amongft us, fo much is there of 
union ; and fo much agreement as there is in the 
mind of Chrift, fo much of Chriftian union. 

Finally — Let not the heart of any man fail him y cn 
account of the high tone and fcurnful airs af unfed by infi- 
dels. The reign of infidelity may be extenfive, but it 
muft be fhort. It carries in it the feeds of its own 
difiblution. Its immoralities are fuch, that the world 
cannot long fuftain them. Scripture prophecy has 
clearly foretold all the great governments of the 
world, from the time of the Jewifh Captivity to this 
day : the Babylonian, Perfian, Macedonian, and Ro- 
man ; together with the ten kingdoms into which the 
laft of thefe empires has been divided, and the Papal 
government which fprang up from amongft them j 
but it makes no explicit, mention of this. It has no 
indjjridual fubMence given it in the fyftem of prcph- 
ecy. it is not a -beajl ; but a mere putrid excrefcence 
of the Papal beaft ; an. excrefcence which, though it 
rr&y "idiffufe death through every vein of the body on 
which it grew, yet mall die along with it. The 



Addrefs to Chrijiians. 



203 



beaft, and all which pertains to him goeth into perdi- 
tion.* There is no ("pace of time allowed for this 
government : no fooner it is faid, Babylon is fallen, 
than voices are heard in heaven declaring that the 
marriage of the Lamb is come.f No fooner does the 
judgment Jit , to take away the dominion of the little horn, 
to confume and to deflroy it unto the end, than it follows, 
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatnefs of the 
kingdom under the whole heaven fl>all be given to the people 
of the faints of the Mojl High.% 

Popery is not yet ddtroyed though it has received 
a deadly blow •, and from what is faid of the little 
horn, that they fhall take away his dominion to con* 
fume, and to deflroy it unto the end, it iliould feem that 
its overthrow will be gradu.il. While' this is accom- 
plifhing, the reign of infidelity may continue, with 
various fuccefs ; but no longer. Only let us watch, 
and keep our garments clean, a caution given, it is prob- 
able, with immediate reference to the pre fen t times,J 
and we have nothing to fear. It is a fource of great 
confolation that the laft of the four beads, which, for 
more than two thoufand years, have perfecuted the 
Church, and oppreifed mankind, is drawing near to 
its end. The government that {hail next prevail will 
be that of Chrilt, whofe kingdom is an everlafling king- 
dom, and all dominions fiall ferve and obey him. Even Jo, 
amen. Bleffed be his glorious name for ever ; and let the 
whole earth be filled with his glory ; amen 3 and amen ! 

* Rev. xvii. 8, 11. f Rev. xviii. xii. 

\ Ban. vii. 26, 27. The writer has lince it ad a very ahle dtf- 
courfe by Mr. Nathan Strong, of Hartford. Connecticut, entitled, 
Political Inflrufiion from the Prophecies of God's Word; in which the 
above featiments are ftated with great force of evidence. 
§ Rev, xvi. j 5. 



F 1 N I S. 



QUERY 

) TO THE AUTHOR OF 

" THE GOSPEL ITS OWN WITNESS.*' 

[From the Biblical Magazine.] 
Rev. Sir, 

With confiderable pleafure I have perused your 
book, "the gospel its own witness." There is one 
thing, however, in p. 200, fecond edition, on which I 
take the liberty to requeft a littla information ; namely, 
Whether any perfon, by nature, poffefles that " honeft 
heart" which conftitutes the ability to comply with the 
invitations of the gofpel to everlafting life ? If not, 
Whether, if I be not wiiat you call an eleci /inner , there 
are any means provided of God, and which I can ufe, 
that fnall ifTue in that "honefty of heart" which will en- 
able me to believe unto falvation ? And if not, be fo 
good as to inform me, How the gofpel can, with any 
propriety, be called, A blefing beftonued upon me ; feeing it 
is inadequate to make me happy, and contains no good 
thing which I can poflibly obtain or enjoy : for though 
I am a fmner, yet it is impoffible for me to be a believing 
Jtnner. 

Yours, &c. C. G* 

Portfea. 



REPLY 

TO THE FOREGOING QUERY. 
Dear Sir, 

YOU inquire — ( 1.) <■ Whether any perfon, by nature, 
poJTeffes that « honeft heart* which conftitutes the ability 
to comply with the invitations of the gofpel ?" I believe 
the heart of man to be by nature the direct oppofite o£ 



Reply to C. &s. Query. 



20$ 



honeft. I am not aware, however, that I have any where 
reprefented an honeft heart as constituting our ability to 
comply with gofpel invitations, unlefs as the term is fome- 
times ufed in a figurative fenfe, for moral ability. I 
have faid, " There is no ability wanting for this purpofe 
" in any man who pcfTefTes an honeft heart." If a perfon 
owed you one hundred pounds, and could find plenty of 
money for his own purpofes, though none for you ; and 
mould he, at the fame time, plead inability, you would 
anfwer, There was no ability 'wanting but an honeft heart : 
yet it would be an unjuft conftruclion of your words, if 
an advocate for this difhoneft man were to allege, that 
you had reprefented an honeft heart as that which confli- 
tuted the ability to pay the debt. No, you would reply, his 
ability, ftriclly fpeaking,- confifts in its being in the power 
of his hand, and this he has. That which is wanting is 
an honeft principle ; and it is the former, not the latter, 
which renders him accountable. It is fimilar with re- 
gard to God. Men have the fame natural powers to love 
Chrift as to hate him ; to believe as to difbeiieve ; and 
this it is which conftitutes their aecountablenefs. Take 
away reafcn and confcience, and man would ceafe to be 
accountable : but if he were as wicked as Satan himfelf, 
in that cafe no fuch effect would follow. — (2.) If no man 
by nature pollefs an honeft heart, you inquire, "Whether, 
" if I be not what you call an eleft /inner, there are any 
41 means provided of God, and which T can life, that fhaH 
" ilfue in that * honefty of heart' which will enable me to 
** believe unto falvation ?" Your being an elect, or a non- 
elect fmner, makes no difference as to this queftion. The 
idea of a perfon deftitute of honefty ufmg means to ob- 
tain it, is in all cafes a contradiction. The ufe of means 
fippofts the exifence of an honeft dehre after the end ; the 
Scriptures direct to the fmcere ufe of means for obtaining 
eternal life ; and theie means are, Repent and believe the 
gfpel j but they no where direct to fuch a ufe of means 
as may be complied with, without any honefty of heart, 
and in order to obtain it. Nothing appears to me with 
greater evidence, than that God directly requires upright- 
nef: of heart, not only in the moral law, bui. in ail the ex- 
hortations of the Bible, and not the difhoneft ufe of means 
in order to obtain it. Probably, you yourfelf would not 
W T •■'-?«»V-^'^JtSiilli 



206 



Reply to C. G's. Query. 



plead for fuck a ufe of means ; but would allow, that 
even in ufmg means to obtain an honeft heart, we ought 
to be fincere : but, if fo, you muft maintain what I affirm, 
that nothing fhort of honeft y of heart itfelj "is required in 
any of the exhortations of Scripture ; for a fincere ufe of 
means h honelty of heart. If you fay, « No ; man is de- 
praved : it is not his duty to pofTefs an honeft heart, but 
merely to ufe means that he may pofTefs it :' I anfwer, 
(as perfonating the finner) I have no defirs after an hon- 
eft heart. If you reply, ' You mould pray for fuch a de- 
iire,' you muft mean, if you mean any thing, that I 
fhould exprefs my deftre to God, that I may have a dejire ; 
and I tell you that I have none to exprefs ! You would 
then, Sir, be driven to tell me, ' I was fo wicked, that I 
neither was of an upright heart, nor would be perfuaded 
to ufe any means for becoming fo ; and that I muft take 
the coniequences/ That is, I muft be expofed to pun- 
iftiment.. becaufe, though I had " a price in my hand to 
" get wifdom, / had no heart to it." Thus, all you do is to 
remove the obftruction farther out of fight : the thing is 
the fame. 

I apprehend it is owing to your confidering human de- 
pravity as the misfortune, rather than the fault of human 
nature, that you and others fpeak of it as you do. You 
would not write in this manner in an affair that affected 
yourfelf If the debtor above fuppofed, whom you knew 
to have plenty of wealth about him, were to allege his 
■want of an honeft heart, you might poffibly think oiujing 
means with him ; but you would not think of directing* 
him to ufe means to become what at prefent he has no 
defile to be — an honeft man ! 

(3.) You inquire, If there be no means provided of 
God, which I can ufe, that mail iffue in that honefty of 
heart which will enable me to believe unto falvation, 
" How can the goipel be a blejfing bejlonved upon me ; fee- 
** ing it is inadequate to make me happy, and contains no 
«« good thing which I can poffibly obtain or enjoy V 9 If I 
be under no other inability than that which arifes from a 
difnonefty cf heart, it is an abufe of language to introduce 
the terms " pcffible, impoffible," &c. for the purpofe ot di- 
minifhing the goodnefs of God, or deftroying the account- 
ablenefs of man. I am not wanting in power, provided I 



Reply to C. G's. gjuery. 207 



were willing ; and if I be not willing, there lies my fault. 
Nor is any thing in itfelf lefs a blefling on account of our 
unreafonable and wicked averfion to it. Indeed, the 
fame would follow from your own principles. If I be 
fo wicked as not only to be deftitute of an honeft heart, 
but cannot be perjuaded to ufe means in order to obtain it, I 
mud peritfi : and then, according to your way of writing, 
the gofpel was " inadequate to make me happy, and 
" was no blefling to me !" You will fay, * I might have 
ufed the means :' that is, I might, if I 'would, or if I had 
poffefled a fmcere defire after the end ; but I did not 
poffefs it ; and therefore the fame confequences follow 
your hypothefis as that which you oppofe. 

If thefe things be true, fay you, we may defpair. True, 
Sir, and that is the point, in a fenfe, to which I mould 
be glad to fee you and man) others brought. Till we 
defpair of all help from ourfelves, we (hall never pray 
acceptably ; nor, in my judgment, is there any hope of 
our falvation. 

Let a man feel that there is no bar between him and 
heaven, except what confifts in his own wickednefs ; and 
yet that fuch is its influence over him, that he certainly 
never will, by any efforts of his own, extricate himfelf 
from it, and he will then begin to pray for an intereft 
in falvation by mere grace, in the name of Jefus — a falva- 
tion that mall fave him from himfelf; and, fo praying, 
he will find it ; and when he has found it, he will feel 
and acknowledge that it was grace alone that made him 
to differ ; and this grace, he is taught in the fcriptures 
to afcribe to the purpofe of God, given him in Chrifl 
Jefub before the world began. 

Yours, &c. A. F. 



Mr. FULLER'S 

LETTERS 

TO 

Mr. VIDLER, 

ON 

THE DOCTRINE OF 

UNIVE RSAL SALVA TIO K 



BOSTON: 

PRINTED AND SOLD BY MANNING AND LORING, NO. 2% 
CORNHILL. 

AUG. 1803. 



V 



A 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



Review of the eontroverfy between Mr. Vidler and 
I Mr. Fuller^ on the doftrine of Universal Salvation, in twelve 
/ Letters to a l/niverfilif, being prepared for the prefs, the Pub- 
; liflier judged it a fit opportunity for gratifying the withes of 
many of Mr. Fuller's friends, to reprint his Letters to Mr* 
Vidler on that fubject. He accordingly applied to the Author 
for per minion to do fo, and received the following anfwer : — 
« Mr. Vidler, in a Letter to me, fignified his intention to reprint 
" the whole eontroverfy. As he has now, I fliould think, had 
" fuificient tiro;? to fulfil his propofal, and has not done it, you 
* are at liberty to publifh that part of it which belongs to me.'* 
The reader is requeued to notice, that the firft of thefe Letters 
appeared in the Evangelical Magazine for September, 1795, and 
the feven following ones in the Univerfalift's Mifcellany, between 
July, 1799, ana " July, i8cc; and that owing to this circumftance,. 
the firft Letter in the prefent feries was not numbered in that of 
the Univerfalift's Mifcellany : but what is there called the firjt 
is here the fecond ; and fo on throughout. 

Thofe paffages which relate to the article of " Birmingham* 
" news," are omitted, as irrelative to the point at iffue. 

The Review will be ppinted uniformly with the prefent pub- 
lication, for the accommodation of the reader. 



CufsTONE, Aug. a, 1802. 



LETTERS to Mr. VIDLER. 



LETTER I. 

Bxpofl ulations with Mr. Vidler, on his having embraced tkfi 
Doclr'ine of Univerfal Salvation* 

My dear Friend, 

It has afforded me fome painful concern to hear of 
your having embraced the fcheme of Univerfal Salvation. 

When you were at K 7 you appeared to me to be 

of a fpeculative difpofition. I have long thought fuch a 
turn of mind to be very advantageous or very dangerous: 
perfons of this defcription either make great advances in 
truth, or fall into great errors. I cannot, in this letter, 
enter deeply into the controverfy ; nor is there any ne- 
ceflaty for it, as I am told that Dr. Edwards's Anfwer 
to Dr. Chauncey is in your hands. I earneftly wifli you 
may read that piece with care, impartiality, and open- 
nefs to conviction. I think you ought to have read it 
before you advanced your change of fentiment ; and I 
greatly wifh you had : for though I do not queftion your 
opennefs to conviction, any more than that of any other 
perfon in your filiation, yet I know fomething of what 
is in man : I know it is a very rare thing <when nve have 
once openly difdvowed a fentiment, to return to it, and openly 
avow it again* There are many inftances of people 
changing their principles, and there may have been in* 
fiances of the other ; but I do not recollect any. Falfe 
fhame, fupporfed by miftaken pride, forms here a very 
powerful temptation. The dread of being accufed of 
verfatility and indecifion, infenfibly obtains fuch a do- 
minie ri over the mind, as to blind it to one fide of the 
argurr nt, ; nd to give efficacy to every thing that looks 
like an argument, or the lhadowof an argument, on the 
ether. 



214 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



It is certainly a very ferious matter that we do not 
err in our mini Orations. Error in a minifter may affect 
the eternal welfare of many. I hope I may prefume up- 
on the friendlinefs of your temper while I expoftulate 
with you on the fubject. I will not be tedious to you, 
but let me entreat you to confider the following things : 

Firft : Whether your change of fentiment has not arif- 
en from an idea of endlefs punifhment being in itfelf un- 
juft. If it has, confider whether this does not arife from 
diminutive notions of the evil of fin ; whether you be not 
too much infected by fin yourfelfto be a proper judge of 
its demerit ; (a company of criminals would be very im- 
proper judges of the equity and goodnefs of a law which 
condemns them ;) whether you do not hold a principle, 
from which it will follow, that millions will be finally 
happy who will not be indebted to either the grace of 
God, or the death of Chrift, for their happinefs ; and 
eonfequently muft have a heaven to themfelves, not be- 
ing able to join with thofe who afcribe theirs to God and 
the Lamb. For if endlefs mifery be unjujl, exemption 
from it muft be the finner's right, and can never be attrib- 
uted to mercy ; neither could a mediator be needed to 
induce a righteous God to liberate the finner, when he 
had fufFered his full defert. In fine, confider whether you 
do not contradict your own experience. I think you have 
told me of your great diftrefs of foul, arifmg from a 
confcioufnefs of your deferring to be caft out of God's 
favour, and banifhed forever from his prefence. Can 
you now fay, that you did not deferve this ? Do you not 
deferve it ftill ? If you do, why not others ? 

Secondly : Confider whether the genius of the fenti?nent in 
queflion, be not oppofiteto that of every other fentimeiit in the bible* 
The whole tenor of the Scripture faith to the righteous , It 
fhill be well ivith him ; a?id to the wicked, It Jhall be til with 
him : But Univerfal Salvation faith not only to the right- 
eous, but to the wicked, It lhall be well at laft with him. 
Do confider whether you can find any one Scripture truth 
that refembies it in this refpect. What doctrine, betides 
this, can you find in the bible, that affords encouragement 
to a finner going on ftill in his trefpaffes ; and which 
furnifhes ground for hope and joy, even fuppofmg him 
to perfevere in fin till death ? Inftead of fiding with God 



en Univerfal Salvation. 21 5 

againft a wicked world, as a fenrant of God ought to do ; 
is not this a Tiding wicked world againft God, and encour- 
aging them to believe, what they are apt enough to be- 
lieve without encouragement, that they Jloall have peace 9 
though they add drunkennefs to thirft ? Wo is me, 'aid an 
apoftle, if I preach not the gofpH I If an angel from heaven 
f reach any other go/pel, he is declared to be accurfed 7 Do 
ferioufly confider whether the doctrine of Univerfal Salva- 
tion will not render your preaching another g -fpel The 
gofpel of Chrift is good tidings to the meek, healing to the brok- 
en hearted, and co?nfort to them that mourn : buc muft not 
your's be good tidings to the proud and impenitent. -'and 
comfort to thofe whom the Scripture declares under con- 
demnation and the curfe ? The golpel of Chrift is a 
fyftem of holinefs, a fyftem entirely oppofite to every 
vicious bias of the human heart ; a fyftem, therefore, 
which no unrenewed heart embraces — he that believeth 
that Jefus is the Chrift, is horn of God : — But the good 
news which you muft publim requires no change of heart, 
that it may be embraced ; being juft fultcd to the willies 
of an abandoned mind. 

Thirdly: Confider whether your miniftrations, on 
this principle, will not favour of his who taught our fir ft 
parents, Ye Jhall not furely die. If you mould raife the 
hopes of the ungodly part of your audience, that though 
they mould live and die in their filthinefs, yet they fhall 
not he filthy fill ; though they go down to the pit, yet it 
Ihall not p> ove hottomlefs ; though the worm may prey 
upon them, yet at feme period or other it Jhall die ; and J 
though they may have to encounter devouring fire, 
yet they fhall not dwell in everlafting burnings : If, I fay, 
you fhould raife fuch hopes, and if all at laft mould prove 
a deception ; think how you will be able to look them 
in the face another day ; and what is ftill more, how 
will you be able to look Him in the face, who hath charg- 
ed you to be free from the blood of all men ; and to fay 
wi to the wicked, it Jhall be ill with him, for the reward of 
his hands fhall be given him 1 

My dear friend ! do not take it unkindly. My foul 
is grieved for you, and for the fouls of many around you. 
How are you as to peace of mind, and communion with 
God \ Beware of the whirlpool of Socinianifm. From 



2l6 Letters to Mr. VTdler 

what I underftand of the nature and tendency of your 
principles, it appears to me you are already within the 
influence of its deftruclive ftream. All who hold this 
fentiment, I know, are not Socinians ; but there are few, 
if any Socinians, who do net hold this fentiment, which 
is certainly of a piece with their whole fyftem. It would 
greatly rejoice my heart to be able to acknowledge you, 
as heretofore, my brother and fellow-labourer in the 
gofpel of Jeius Chriit. Do let me hear from you, and 
believe me to be, 

Yours, &c. 

Feb. 14, 1793. A. F. 



LETTER II. 

Reafons for not continuing the controverfy, and replies to Mr, 
V's objections to the foregoing. 

Sir, 

In the year 1793, when I underftood that you had 
imbibed the doctrine of Univerfal Salvation, I wrote you 
a private expoftulatory letter, to which you returned no 
anfwer. You fpeak of this letter as being no fecret in 
the circle of my acquaintance. I do not think it was 
fhewn to more than two or three individuals. Some time 
after, as a requeft was made in the Evangelical Magazine 
for feme thought on that fubjecl:, and as there was noth- 
ing private in the contents of that letter, I took the liber- 
ty to fend it *ip for infertion. Accordingly it appeared 
in the Magazine for September, 1795, (p. 357) under the 
fignature of Gaius. To this letter you have fmce writ- 
ten an anfwer, in the two firft numbers of your Mifcella- 
ny : I received from you a copy of thofe numbers at the 
time, and fmce then another of a fecond edition, for both 
of which I thank you. To this anfwer I made no reply. 
In your fecond edition you inform your readers of the 
cafe, and feem to with much to know the reafons of my 
filence. Some of your friends in the country, pofTeffing 
a little of the fanguine temper, perhaps, of your Birming- 
ham correfpondent, appear to have entertained a hope 



on Univerfal Salvation. 



217 



that it was owing to the impreffion which your letters 
had made upon my mind. If fuch be alfo your hope, I 
can only fay it has no foundation. 

Whether the reafons of my filence be " cogent'* or not, 
the reader will judge when I have ftated them. If I 
do not confider them as requiring a continued filence, it 
is becaufe you have compelled me to purfue a different 
conduct. To the beft of my recollection, 1 had three 
reafons for not writing at that time : — 

Firft : I did not know that it would be agreeable to 
you to infert in your Mifcellany, what I might write up- 
on the fubject ; and though I confidered the Evangelic- 
al Magazine as a fuitable work for the introduction of a 
fmgle piece, yet it did not appear to be a proper vehicle 
for a continued difcuffion, unlefs what was faid on both 
fides were introduced. 

Secondly : Though I was not Very deeply imprefTed 
with the force of your arguments, yet being fully per- 
fuaded, notwithstanding what you fay of the holy nature 
of your doctrine, that it needed only to be read by a cer- 
tain defcription of people in order to be imbibed ; and 
not fuppofmg your work to have a very extenfive circu- 
lation at prefent, I thought it might be as well to let it 
alone. You may confider this, if you pleafe, as an ac- 
knowledgment of the weaknefs of my caufe. 

Thirdly : Your two letters appeared to me to contain 
fo many mifapprehenfions, and a quantity of perverfion 
of the plain meaning of Scripture, that I felt it a kind of 
hopelefs undertaking to go about to correct them. 

I do not entertain a mean opinion of your talents ; 
but they are perverted by a fyftem. You write as though 
you did not underftand the plain meaning of words. I 
fhould not have thought that by faying " I obferved you 
to be of a fpeculative difpofition," I fhould either have 
puzzled or offended you. I certainly did not mean, by 
that form of fpeech, either that you difcovered a difpofi- 
tion " not to take the affertions of men as the rule of 
your faith," on the one hand, or any particular " want 
of refpect towards the facred writings" on the other. I 
fhould not have thought of ufmg fuch modes of expref- 
fion to convey either of thefe ideas. If you choofe to 
pay yourfelf fuch a compliment, or load your&lf with 
W 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



fuch a cenfure, you are at liberty to do fo ; but do not 
attribute either of them to me. You might have fup- 
pofed that I meant to exhibit no very heavy charge, nor 
indeed any charge at all, under this form of expreffion, 
feeing I added, that " fuch a turn of mind might be very 
advantageous as well as very dangerous." 

In fuggefting that " it is a ferious matter that we err 
not in our miniftrations," I did not mean either to take it 
for granted that you were in an error, or to prove that 
you were fo ; but merely to befpeak your ferious atten- 
tion to the fubjecl. Your ftumbling at the threftiold in 
this manner, Sir, afforded but little hope that, if I wrote, 
it would produce any other effect than a wrangle of 
words, for which I had neither time nor inclination. 

The three quenions which I put to you, and " entreat- 
u ed you to confider," were, it feems, totally irrelative 
to the fubjecl:, equally fo as to m the doctrine of election 
yet you thought proper to offer anfwers to fome parts of 
them, as well as to pafs over others. Waving, for the 
prefent, the confideration of thofe parts which you have 
noticed, I (hall remind the reader of a few tilings which 
you have not noticed, and leave him to judge whether 
.even they were totally irrelative to the fubjecl:. 

You have not told us, that I recollect, whether you claim 
an exemption from endlefs punifhment as a right ; but feem 
to wifh us to think that this is not your ground, efpecially 
as you afcribe it to the death of Chrift : (p. 10.) yet, in 
ether parts of your Mifcellany, I perceive the gift of Chriil 
itfelf is confidered as a reparation for an injury ; (p. 69.) 
which affords but too plain a proof that notwithstanding 
all you fay of grace and love, it is not on the footing of 
grace, but debt, that you hold with Univerfal Salvation. 

Under the fecond queftion you were afked, " What 
doclrine, hefides that of univerfal falvation, you would find 
in the Bible, which affords encouragement to a finner, go- 
ing on ftill in his trefpaffes ; and which furnifhes ground 
for hope and joy, even fuppofmg him to perfevere in fin 
till death ?" To this you have given no anfwer. Was 
this queftion equally irrelative to the fubjecl as to the 
doclrine of eleclion ? 

Under the third queftion, you were addreffed as fol- 
lows ; — " If you fhould raife the hopes of the ungodly 



on Univerfal Salvation. 



219 



" part of your audience, though they mould live and die 
" in ^vtfilthbiefs, yet they mall not he filthy JIM ; though 

they go down to the pit, yet it fhall not prove hot torn- 
" lefs ; though the worm prey upon them, yet at fome 
" period or other it lhall die ; and though they may have 
" to encounter devouring fire, yet they lhall not dwell with 
*' ever lofting burnings : If, I fay, you mould raife fuch 
" hopes, and if all at lad mould prove a deception, think 
" how you will be able to look them in the face another 
" day ; and what is 1 till more, how you will be able to 
" look Him in the face who hath charged you to be pure 
"from the Hood of oil men t" Was this equally irrelative 
to the fubject as to the doctrine of election ? Yet to no 
part of this have you given any anfwer, except your at- 
tempting to explain away the term everlajling may be fo 
called. You reprefent the whole of this third queftion, 
as proceeding on the fuppofition of your denying all fu- 
ture punifliment. But is not this a grofs mifrepreienta- 
tion ? Does not the whole foregoing paiTage allow that 
you admit of future punifliment of a limited duration ; 
and hold up, though not in the form of arguments, fev- 
eral fcriptural objections to that notion ? I coniider this, 
iSir, as a further proof of your talents for fair and plain 
reafoning, being perverted by a fyftem. 

You appeal to the Scriptures, and contend that they no 
where teach the doctrine of endlefs punilhment ; yet you 
are aware that they appear to do fo, and are obliged to 
have recourfe to a method of weakening the force of 
terms in order to get rid of them. It has been long the 
practice of writers on your fide the queftion, to ring chan- 
ges on the words aion, and aiomos 4 pretty words no 
doubt* and could they be proved to be lefs expreftive' 
of endlefs duration than the Englifti words everlafting and 
eternal, they might be fomething to the purpofc : but if 
not, the continual recurrence to them is a mere affecta- 
tion of learning, ferving to miflead the ignorant. Be this 
as it may, this is an exercife which hardly becomes you. 
or me. I fhall only obferve upon it, that by this meth- 
od of proceeding, you may difprove almoit any thing you 
pleafe. There are fcarcely any terms in any language, 
but what, through the poverty of language itfeif or the 
inequality of the number of words to the number, of 



220 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



ideas, are fometimes ufed in an improper or figurative 
fenfe. Thus, if one attempt to prove the divinity of the 
Son of God, or even of the Father, from his being called 
Jehovah, God, &c. you may reply, that the name Jehovah 
is fometimes given to things ; as to an altar, a city, and 
once to the church ; therefore nothing can be concluded 
from hence in favour of the argument. Thus alfo, if 
one go about to prove the omnifcience of God, from its 
being declared that his under/landing is infinite ; you might 
anfwer, the term infinite is fometimes ufed to exprefs only 
a very great degree, as when the ftrength of Ethiopia 
and Egypt is faid to have been infinite. (Nah. iii. 9.) 
Again : If one endeavour to prove the endlefs exiftence- 
of God, from his being called the eternal God, the ever* 
lofting God, kc. ; or the endlefs duration of the heavenly 
inheritance, from its being called eternal life, an inherit- 
ance incorruptible and that fadeth not anvay ; you might 
anfwer, thefe terms are fometimes ufed to .fignify only a. 
limited duration ; and, that a thing in common language 
is faid to be incorruptible, when it will continue a long 
time without figns of decay. 

The queftion is, Could ftronger terms have been ufed con- 
cerning the duration of future punifJ??nent than are ufed ? 
To object againft the words everlafling, eternal, &c. as be- 
ing too weak, or indeterminate in their application for 
the purpofe, is idle, unlefs others could be named which 
are ftronger, or more determinate. What expreffions 
could have been ufed that would have placed the fub- 
ject beyond difpute ? You ordinarily make life of the 
term endlefs, to exprefs our doclrine : it mould feem then, 
that if we read of endlefs punimment, or punimment with- 
out end, you would believe it. Yet the fame objections 
might be made to this, as to the words everlafting, eternal, 
&c. It is common to fay of a loquacious perfon, He is 
an endlefs talker : it might, therefore, be pretended that the 
term e?idlefs is very indeterminate ; that it often means 
no more than a long time ; and, in fome inftances, not 
more than three or four hours at longeft. Thus you fee, 
or may fee, that it is not in the power of language to ftand 
before fuch methods cf ciiticifmg and reafoning, as thofe 
on which you build your fyftem. 

Admitting all that you allege in favour of the limited 
fenfe of the above terms, ftill the nature of the fubjefl, 



on tinmerfat Salvation. 22 x 

the connexion and fcope of the paffagefs, together with 
the life of various other f?rms of expfeflion which con- 
vey the fame thing are fufficient to p;. -/-, that when 
applied to the do<5trine of future puniihment, they are to 
be underflood without any limitation. 

tf we read of a dileafe cleaving to a man forever, the 
plain meaning is to the end of bis life : if of an everlaQing 
prielthood, tlu meaning is, one that fhould epntinue to 
ihs end of the diftpenftation of which it was an institute : if of 
everlafting hilts, or mountains, the meaning is, that they 
will continue till the end of the 'world: but if aft-:r this world 
is ended, and fucceffive dur ^ion confequently terminated, 
we ' ead that the wicked (hall go away into ev.rlafting- 
puniihment, and that in the lame paffage in which it is 
added, but the righteous into ever lofting lift? ; (Matt. xxv. 
46.) w6 be to the man who dares to plunge into th.it 
abyfs on the prefumption of finding a bottom ! 

The evidence which you offer of a fuccejfive duration- 
after this period, is a proof of the fcarcity of that article' 
in the paths which you are in the habits of tracing. A 
plain unbiaffed reader of Scripture would have fuppofed, 
that the terms day and night, in Rev. xiv. 11, had been a 
figurative mode of exprefhon to denote perpetuity ; and ef- 
pecially as the fame language is ufed by the inhabitants 
of heaven, chap. vii. 1 5. For my part. I confefs I fhould 
as foon have dreamed of proving from what is faid in 
chap. xxi. 24 — u The nations of them that are faved Avail 
walk in the light of the New Jeruialem,' , — that mankind' 
will maintain their prefent political diMinctions in a fila- 
ture itate, r 53 of founding upon fuch language the idea 
of fucccflive duration. Your expolitions on oiher parts: 
of the Revelations are of the fame defcription, as frigid 
as they are puerile. It is a wonder the New Jerufalem 
coming doiun from heaven had not been fuppofed to have 
fallen into the fea, and to have filled it up ; and an argu- 
ment been drawn from its great dimensions, of its being 
large enough to contain the whole human race You 
muit not be furpriled, Sir, if I do not perceive the force 
of thefe pallages in proving that all beyond the laft judg- 
ment is not proper eternity. 

Yours, &c. 

7"4w79S« A. R. 

W 2. 



222 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



LETTER III. 

Difficulties attending Mr. Vs. Scheme , and its inconjiflency 
with Scripture. 

Sir, 

'Y'oU complain, more than once, of my not under- 
(landing the fuhject againft which I write ; and here, for 
aught I fee, I muft fall under. I confefs I do not, nor 
can I underftand what it is that you believe. Having 
heard and feen fo much of your profeffing to hold the 
doctrine of univerfal falvation, univerfal reftitution, and 
that " all men will be finally benefited by the death of 
" Chrift, ,> I really thought you had meant fo ; and could 
not have imagined that with thefe pretentions you would 
have avowed the notion of annihilation. Hence it was, 
that in my third queftion, though I did not as you allege,, 
proceed upon the fuppofition of your denying all future 
puniihment, yet I acknowledge I did proceed upon the 
fuppofition that you hold with no other future punifh- 
ment than what fhould terminate in everlafting life. 
And who could have thought otherwife ? After all the 
• information you have fmce given me, I am ftill fo igno- 
rant as not to underftand how ail men are to be finally 
faved, and yet a part of them annihilated ! Neither can 
I comprehend how there can come a time with finners 
when he that made them will not have mercy upon them* 
on the fuppofition that all pumjhrwnti of all degrees and 
duration, is itfelf an exercifi of mercy, (p. 10.) 

Neither can I comprehend how you reconcile many 
things in your fcheme with the holy Scriptures. I have 
been ufed to underftand the terms death and per[fJ?. being 
oppofed to everlafting life, (John iii. 16. x. 28.) as ex- 
preflive, net of the lofs of being, but of well-being. Eut 
with you they fignify annihilation, (p. 42.) The defign 
of God, it feems. in giving his Son to fuffer For us, was 
not tofave us from fullering, but merely from becoming 
extinct, and to perpetuate our exiftence. And the death 
which thofe who keep his fayings fhall never tafte, (John 
viii. 52) meant the fame thing : they fhall exift forever; 



on Univerfal Salvation. 223 

sl bleffing which your fcheme makes equally applicable 
to many who do not keep his fayings, as to thofe who 
do. And where do you find the above terms ufed to 
convey the idea of annihilation on any other fubjecT: ; and 
from whence was this notion learned ?* 

When we are told that God will not contend forever, 
neither will he be always wroth ; for the fpirit fhould fail be- 
fore hint) and the fouls which he hath made, (Ifai. lvii. 16.) 
I fuppofed it had been meant only of them who in the 
context are faid to put their truft in the Lord ; and that 
in the prefent life, feeing it was promifed them that they 
Ihould pojfefs the land and inherit his holy mountain; of 
them who were of a contrite and humble fpirit-, and not of 
the wicked, who are likened to the troubled ' fea, for whom 
there is no peace : but you conilder all thefe promifes as 
belonging to the fame people as the threatening in ch, 
xxv ii. 16. He that made them will not have mercy upon them, 
and he that formed them will fhew them no favour ! 

I obferve when fuch terms as forever feem to favour 
your caufe, they are to be taken in their utmoft latitude 
of meaning. If it had been faid of the Divine Being, he 
will contend forever, you would have introduced your 
fmsMfong of aionas and aio?wn,-\ as fometimes meaning 
only a limited duration ; but feing it is faid he will not 
contend forever, here the word muft. be underftood of 
duration without end. You muft excufe me, however, 
if I once avail myfelf of your critical labours, and remind 
you that forever in this pafiage refers merely to the pref- 
ent life, as the context plainly ftiews. 

I never imagined, till I faw it in the writings of Uni- 
verfalifts, that fini firing tranfgreffwn and making an end of 
fin, (Dan. ix. 24) had any reference to what was to be 
done after the refurrection and the laft judgment ; and 
efpecially fmce what is there predicted was to be accom- 
plished within feventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety 
years from the time of the prophecy. 

* The reader will perceive hereafter, that Mr. F. was miftaken 
in fuppoiing Mr. V. to hold the doctrine of Annihilation : this he 
acknowledges in Letter VI. 

f Alluding to Mr. V's, quotation in Uriver. Mifd. No. I. p. 8. 




Letters to Mr. Vidler 



I have been ufed to think that the mediation of Christ 
was not on behalf of fallen angels, whofe nature he took 
not on him, of whofe falvation the Scriptures are filent, 
and whofe own ideas are, that they have nothing to do 
with him, Matt:, viii. 29. But according to-your reafon- 
ings, they alfo mull be either faved or annihilated ; yea, 
they muft have at kail the offer of falvation, otherwife 
their prefent and future fufrerings would not be in mer- 
cy, which you coniider as belonging to all punifhment 
whatever. 

It had been uftial with me to think that the triumph 5 
of mercy, in the day of retributiori, as defcribed in James 
ii. 13. Pfalm lxii. 12. refpecred another defcription of 
people than thcfe who were to receive judgment without 
mercy ; namely, thofe that mould fofpeak and fo do, as they 
that jhoidd be judged by the perfect V laiv of liberty ; but yoa 
have found out a fcheme, ft ieems, in which thefe oppo* 
iites are united in the fame perfons ; and in which the un- 
godly, while receiving judg?nent without mercy, have no 
judgment but what is m mercy, (p. 10.) Is it furprihng. 
Sir, that a man of plain and ordinary capacity mould be 
at a lois to. understand fuch things as theis ? 

It would not have occurred to me that an argument 
eould have been drawn from the threatenings of God to 
Ifrael in the prefent life, (Lev. xxv.) to what fliall be 
done to the. ungodly world in the life to come ; yet fo it 
is : (p. 43.) and the ground on which the analogy is* 
juftined, is the immutability of the divine character. But 
what the immutable character of God requires to be 
done, muit be done alike in all ages, and to all people : 
whereas, what was there threatened to Ifrael was not 
done at the fame time to other nations, nor has it been, 
done fmce to any nation befide them. (Amos iii. 2„ 
Acts xxvii. 30.) There is nothing in- it analogous to his 
dealings with mankind, unlefs it be the general idea of 
his " making ufe of natural evil to correct moral evil. 5 * 
This being known to be the cafe on earth, you 44 cannot 
u but think it muft be the delign of future punifhment." 
Such is the whole of your argument, which you recom- 
mend to my " ftrious confederation !" But how if, on 
the other hand, I mould fay, though natural evil be ufed 
on earth to correct moral evil, in fociety at large, yet. 



on Univerfal Salvation. 



225 



it is not always fent for the purpofe of correcting the 
parties themfelves ? We have no proof that the men of 
Sodom were deftroyed by fire, or Pharaoh drowned in the 
fea, for their good : therefore, I cannot but think there 
is a fimilar deiign in future punifliment. 

I always fuppofed that the fenfe in which God is faid 
to be the Saviour of all men, efpecially of them that believe, 
(p. 44) was that in which the apoftle there puts his truji 
in him ; namely, as the God of providence, whofe care is 
extended to all his creatures, but efpecially to believers. 

I have read of the difpenfation of the fulnefs of times ; 
but the idea never occurred to me that thefe times were 
to be underitcod of ages beyond the laft judgment. I 
have no doubt but the ;< gathering together in one all 
things in Chrift, which are in heaven, and which are on 
earth, will be accomplished, and that within the limits 
of time. If it be done, as you allow it will, (p. 10) by 
the time u that he mall have put down all rule, and all 
authority, and power, and mall have fubdued all things 
unto himfelf," it will be done by the ime he (hall have 
railed the dead, and judged the world ; for then is 
this work defcribed as being accomplifhed. 1 Cor. 
xv. 24. 

In reading the account of the new heaven and new earthy 
in the xxi. chap, of the Revelations, I find amongft oth- 
er things it is faid, there Jhall be no more death, and after- 
wards no more curfe ; but I fhould not have thought of 
thefe things being applied to the univerfe at large, but 
merely to the inhabitants of that bleiTed ftate ; and the 
rather feeing it is faid in the fame chapter, that the fear- 
ful} and the unbelieving, a fid the abominable, and murderers, 
and whoremongers, and forcerers, and idolators, and all liars, 
Jhall have their part in the lake .which bur net h with fire 
and h i?nJione, which is the fecond death. Neither could I 
have fuppofed it pofli >le, from fuch a reprefentation of 
the fecond death, to conclude that it confided in annihila- 
tion. 

By the times of the rcftitution of all things, (Acts iii. 21) 
I have been ufed to understand the times of the refurrec- 
tion and the laft judgment : for that till then, and no 
longer, will Chrift be detained in the heavens. Whenev- 
er Chrift defcends from heaven, then, according to Peter* 



226 



Letters to Mr. Vid'er 



wiil be the times of the reftitution of all things : but this 
will be previous and in order to his raifmg the dead and 
judging the world (i Thef. iii. 16.) C-mfequently thef; 
are the times of which the apoftle fpeaks. The utter 
overthrow which will then be given to the kingdom of 
Satan by the general conflagration, (2 Peter iii. 12) the 
deftr action of the laft enemy, death, by the refurre&ion, 
(1 Cor. xv. 23, 26) and the final adjuftment of human 
affairs by the laft judgment, (Matt. xxv. 31, 46) will be 
a reftitution of all things ; the empire of fin will be crufh- 
ed, and the government of God completely reftored. 

But the times in which your fcheme is to be accomplifh- 
ed, muft be after the final judgment ; for from' that peri- 
od there is an everlaft'mg punifbment for the wicked to en- 
dure, a lake of fire into which they are to be call; (Matt* 
xxv, 46. Rev. xx. 15^) and from which your reftitution 
of all things is to recover them,. Your reftitution there 
fore, and that of the Scriptures, are not the fame. 

You cannot conceive of a reftitution of all things, and 
of fin being made an end of unlefs all the individuals in 
the creation be either reconciled to God, or annihilated : 
but what authority have you for fuch a con-ftruclion of 
thefe terms \ Did the reftoring of all things on the Msf- 
fiah's firft appearance, (Matt, xxvii. 11) include all indi- 
viduals, fo far as it went ? When God faid to Zedekiah, 
And thou profane, nvicked prince of Ifrael t nvho/e day is come* 
when iniquity f?all have an end, did it mean that he mould 
be either converted or annihilated ? Ezek. xx. 25. And 
when the fame language is ufed of the fins of the people, 
(chap. xxv. 5) does it mean that they mould be either 
converted or annihilated ? Rather is it not manifeft that 
by iniquity having an end is meant, that the perpetrators 
of it were brought to condign punilhment, Unit up in 
Babylon as in a prifon, and rendered incapable of doing- 
further mifchief ? Such will, be the cafe with all the un- 
godly at the fecond coming of Chrift ; and this will be 
the reftoration of peace, order, and happinefs to the reft 
of the univerfe. 

The doctrine of endlefs mifery appears to you to " con- 
" found all degrees of punilhment, in giving infinite pun- 
*' ifhment to all." (p. 42.) You, it feems, can conceive of 
aa diverfity of fufFerlng, unlefs it be in duration. Will 



en Umverful Salvation. 



22J 



the reflection of loft fouls on their paft life then be all ex- 
actly the fame ? The fame in the objects reflected on, and 
confequently the fame in the intenienefs of their mifcry ? 
How grofsly abfurd, Sir, mull be your notions of future 
punifhment, to admit of fuch an idea i Befides, there is 
equal reafon to believe that there will be different degrees 
of glory as of mifery. If heavenly blifs bear any rela- 
tion to the labours, and fufferings of the prefent life on be- 
half of Chrift, which the Scriptures ajfure us it doe>, 
(Matt. v. 12. 2 Cor. iv. 17) thefe bcin.; diverfe, that muft 
alfo be the fame. But according to your reafoning, 
there can be no diverlity unle's it be in duration : either 
therefore, all degrees cf happinefs muft be confounded 
in giving infinite happinefs to all, or the inhabitants of 
heaven, as well as thole of hell, muft, after a certain pe- 
riod, be continually diminishing by annihilation. 

ouch, Sir, are your expeditions of Scripture. Except 
iii the productions of a certain maniac in our own coun- 
ty, I never recollect to have feen fo much violence done 
to the word of God in fo fmall a com^afs. 

According to your fcheme, all things work together 
for good to them that love not God, as well as to them 
that love him. Thus you confound what the Scriptures 
difcriminate. 

Our Lord told the Jews, That if they believed not 
that he was the Mefliah, they fhould die in their fins, and 
wither he went they could not come ; (John viii. 21.) but 
according to your fcheme, they might die in their fins, 
and yet be able to go whither he went, and inherit eter- 
nal life. , 

The Scriptures defcribe a fort of characters who fhall 
he expof. j d to a certain fearful loohing for of judg?nent : 
(Heb. x. 27.) but this, according to your fcheme, can 
be nothing more than annihilation. For as the cafe of 
the characters defcribed is fuggefted to be irrevocable 
and hopelefs, they cannot be punifhed during ages of 
ages in a npay of -mercy, or with a view to their recovery ; 
and as to their being puniftied during this long period, 
and in the end annihilated, this would be contrary to all 
your ideas of punishment, which muft always have its 
foundation in meicy. Hence it follows, that all this 
fearful looking lor of judgment, amounts to no more 



228 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



than what atheifts and infidels generally prefer ; death 
being to them an everlajling Jleep. 

Nor is your hypothesis lefs at variance with itfelf than 
with the holy Scriptures. Your notion of temporary pun- 
ijbment clafhes with all your arguments drawn from the 
benevolent feelings of a good man. You afk, " Doth 
" not every good man love his enemies, and forgive even 
e< the worft of them ? Is there a man living whofe heart 
" is filled with the love of God that would not promote 
" the beft intereft of his moft inveterate foe, if it lay in 
" his power ? And has not God more love than the beft 
M of men ? And are not his wifdom and his power equal 
" to his love ?" (p. 74. ) 

In return I aik, Is there a man living whofe heart is 
filled with the love of God, who would be willing that 
his worft enemy mould be caft into hell for ages of ages, 
or for a fingle age, or even a fingle day, when it was in 
his power to deliver him from it ? But God hath more 
love than the beft of men, and his wifdom and power are 
equal to his love ; confequently there will be no future 
punifhment ! 

Your notion of annihilation will alfo contradict the 
greater part of your pretenfions. You talk of utiiverfal 
ialvation ; but you do not believe it : for a part of the hu- 
man race are to be given up as incurables to annihila- 
tion. You plead the fifth chapter to the Romans .in 
favour of your doctrine, contending that juftification of 
life will be as extenfive as co?idemnation ; but you believe 
no fuch thing : for a part of thofe who are condemned, 
inftead of being juftified and faved, will be given up as 
incurables to annihilation. You th nk you fee times be- 
yond the laft judgment, in which all things, or rather as 
you underftand it, all perfons, are to be gathered together 
in Chrift, and reconciled by the blood of his crofs : how- 
beit you mean not fo, neither doth your heart think fo ; 
for a part of them will be (truck out of exiftence, and 
who can therefore be neither gathered nor reconciled. 
You pretend to unite the opinions of Calvinifts and Armi- 
nians : the former, you fay, render the death of Chrift 
/ effectual, but limit its defign to a part of mankind : the 
latter tend it to all, but confider it as ineffectual ; while 
you maintain that it is defigned for all, and effectual 



on Univerfal Salvation. 



to all. (p. 70, 71.) But this is mere pretence : you be- 
lieve no fuch thing ; for a part of mankind are to be at 
laft annihilated. By an anecdote which you have infert- 
ed in p. 65, of your Mifcellany, you flatter yourfelf that 
you have fattened a difficulty on a Mr. R. from which 
he cannot extricate himfelf, but by embracing your doc- 
trine. But neither could he, if he did embrace it ; for 
you no more believe that God will fave all mankind, 
than Mr. R. 

You pretend to urge it as a difficulty on me. that " et- 
" ther God cannot^ or will not ?nake an end of fin ; that 
" there is not efficacy enough in the blood of Chrift to 
" deftroy the works of the devil ; or elfe that the full 
" efficacy of the atonement is withheld by the divine 
" determination :" (p. 44.) But it is all pretence. If it 
be a difficulty, it equally bears upon your own hypoth- 
efis as upon mine. If Chrift died with an intention to 
fave all, why are not all faved ? Why muft a number of 
them be annihilated ? Is it becaufe God cannot bring them 
to repentance and falvation ; or becaufe he will not ? 
Is there not efficacy enough in the blood of the crofs to 
deftroy the works of the devil, without his having re- 
courfe to a mere act of power ; an act which might have 
been exerted without that blood being Ihed ? Or is the 
full efficacy of the atonement withheld by the divine de- 
termination ? 

Yours, &c. 

A.F. 

Kettering^ Augufl 9, 1799. 



LETTER IV, 

Replies and Defences of for titer Reafonings. 
Sir, 

I MUST be very weak, if, while writing in a publica- 
tion of which my opponent is the Editor, I lliould expect 
to have the laft word. When I have faid what appears 
to me nece/Tary on any point, and on the whole matter 
X 



230 Letters to Mr. Vidler 

of difpute, I (tall leave it to the judgment of the candid 
reader. 

From any thing I had advanced, you had no ground 
to conclude that I formed an improper eftimate of my 
own reputation. Any man, who has been in the habit 
of writing, and whofe writings have been at all regarded 
by the public, mud be poiTeifed of fome reputation ; and 
whether it be fmail or great, it is his duty not to make 
ufe of it for the propagation of what he believes to be 
pernicious error, 

" Truth (you fay) courts the public obfervation of 
* men f* and fo may error. If it be true, that wifdom 
crieth in the top of high places, it is equally true, that felly 
is loud and Jlubhorn. The advocates of infidelity, Sir, are 
not lefs bold than yourfelf ; nor iefs loud in their chal- 
lenges of examination. Such challenges afford no crite- 
rion of truth : nor is it any proof of the guodnefsof a 
caufe that its abettors court the public attention. They 
may be well aware that public prejudice is in their fa- 
vour ; or may entertain a much greater dread of linking 
into infignificance by neglect, than of being overcome in 
the field of conteft. 

You have repeatedly reminded me of the favour which 
you confer upon me by permitting my papers to appear 
in your mifcellany. Now, Sir, I confider it as no favour 
at all ; nor as affording any proof of your impartiality. 
If you think otherwiie, you are at perfect liberty, after 
introducing this feries of letters, to difcontinue them. 
If I wim to write any thing farther on the fubject, I 
(hall not be at a lofs for a proper medium. 

" The prejudices of both profeiTor and profane (you 
" tell me) are in my favour." Had you ufed the term 
c&nfciences) inftead of prejudices, you would have been 
nearer the truth. So far as my obfervations extend, the 
prejudices of the bulk of mankind are on the other fide. 
Deifts and libertines lead the way by an open or affected 
rejection of all future punifhment. Socinians, who gen- 
erally include Univerfal Salvation in their fcheme, fol- 
low hard after them. Mrs. Barbauld, if I remember 
right, in her Remarks on Mr. Wakefield's Inquiry, goes 
fo far as to feprefent the ideas of accefs to God through 
~a Mediator, and of punilhment in a bottomiefs pit, as 



on Univerfal Salvation* 



231 



originating in the ignorance and fervility of eaftern cuf- 
toms. Unbelievers, it is well known, rejoice in the fpread 
of Socinianifm, as being favourable to their views ; and 
Socinians rejoice no lefs in the fpread of Univerfalifm, as 
favourable to their's. This is fumciently manifeft by the 
applaufes which writers on your fide commonly meet 
with in the Monthly Review. There are great, numbers 
of nominal Chriltians of loofe characters, who would be 
glad to believe your doctrine of temporary punifhment, 
and to proceed, by an eafy tranfition, to that of no pun- 
ifhment at all ; nor is there any bar which prevents their 
falling in with thefe views, but the remonftrance of their 
confciences. They fear it is too favourable to their vices 
to be true, and therefore are deterred from embracing it. 
Such, Sir, is the " defcription of people," after whom 
you inquire ; fuch is the company with whom you aflb- 
ciate, and to whom you adminifter confolation ; and fuch 
is the juftnefs of your remark, that " the prejudices of 
" both profeffor and profane are in my favour. " If 
you yourfelf had not been perfuaded of the contrary, I 
queftion whether you would have given that title to my 
two firft letters, which appears on the blue covers of 
your work.* The word torments^ it is true, can give no 
jufl offence, as it is a fcriptural expremon ; yet to perfons 
who judge on thefe fubjects merely by their feelings, the 
ideas conveyed by it are fufficient to prejudice them 
againft every thing which a writer may advance. 

Your magazines, Sir, I prefume, would be lefs accept- 
able to many of your readers than they are, if, inftead of 
employing fo large a portion of th^m in attempting to 
prove that all will be finally happy, you were frequently 
to infill that fome men would be tormented in hell with- 
out any mixture of mercy for a number of ages ; and if 
you infifted on this doctrine alfo in your pulpit exercifes,. 
you yourfelf might poflibly be confidered as a " brawler 
" of damnation." 

You carefully avoid claiming Univerfal Salvation as a 
right, and are pleafed to reprefent my inquiry on that 
fubject as " a quibble." I am not furprifed, Sir, that 
you mould feel reluctant on' this head ; that you mould 



* Letter I. from Mr. A. Fuller, in defence of eternal torments. 



*3 2 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



decline the defence of your friend, and that you mould 
alternately compliment and reproach your opponent, as 
if to keep him at a diftance from the fubjedt. (No i. 
p. 5. No. xxxiv. p. 309.) If I miftake not, this is a fun- 
damental principle in your fyftem, and that; which proves 
it to be fundamentally wrong. There is no need of hav- 
ing recourfe to the pieces of other writers ; your own pro- 
ductions aiFord fufficient evidence that the falvation for 
which you plead is not that which arifes from the free 
grace of God through Jefus Chrift ; and consequently, 
that it is no part of the falvation revealed in the gofpel. 
You reject the idea of invalidating the divine threatnings 
towards Pinners,. (No. xxxiv, p. 310.) admitting u them in 
" their full latitude, and the execution of them too ; ?> 
maintaining that " God will deal with his creatures ac- 
" cording to character and that finners will be punifh,- 
" according to their works." (No. ii. p. 42.) Now, Sir, 
if there be any meaning in all this language, it is, That 
juftice will have its courfe on the ungodly ; and that 
whatever punifhment they endure, whether it be vindic- 
tive or corrective, endlefs or temporary, it is all that their 
fins deferve. If the threatenings of God mean no more 
than a punifhment which is temporary, and for the good 
of finners, their conduct can deferve no more ; for we 
cannot have a mere certain rule of eiHmating the juft 
demerit of fin, than the wrath of God which is revealed 
from heaven againft it. But if finners endure the full 
defert of their fin, there is no room for grace, or wide- 
ferved favour ; nor is any place left for. the work of me- 
diation. A criminal who has fuffered the full penalty 
of the law, has no right to be told that his liberation is 
an act of grace, or that it was owing to the mediation of 
another. Your Univerfal Salvation, therefore, is no part 
of that which arifes from the grace of God, or the death 
of Chrifl j nor is it, properly fpeaking, falvation at all, 
but a legal difcharge in confequence of a full iatisfaction 
to divine jufiice being made by the fufferings of the fmner, 
If you contend that the liberation of the fmner is owing 
to the grace of God, through the mediation of his Son, 
which mitigates and fhortens his punifhment, then you 
at once give up all you have before maintained ; That 
tinners will be punifhed according to their works, and that 



en Univerfal Salvation. 



ih e threatenings of God will be fully executed upon them. 
You may have read of " inftances of both punifhment 
M and pardon to the fame perfons, and for the fame fins:" 
(No. xxxv. p. 337.) but this mud be where the punifh- 
ment has not been according to the defert of the fin, 
otherwife there had been no need of pardon. 

You talk much of my dealing in *' fuppofitions inftead 
" of arguments," and of my " refting my conclufions on 
" unfounded aflumptions." 

I have carefully examined thefe charges and am un- 
able to perceive the juftice of them in a fingle inftance. 
Though the letter which appeared in the Evangelical 
Magazine was chiefly in the form of fuppofition, yet that 
Aippofition was not deftitute of argument to fupport it. 
It is poilible, Sir, though it does not appear to have 
occurred to your mind, that arguments themfelves may 
be conveyed under the form of fuppofitions. To con- 
vince you that this was the cafe in the above letter, I 
will put the very pa/Tage to which you object, into the 
form of argument. 

The Scriptures teach us that thofe who at a certain 
period are found filthy, Jhall he filthy ftill ; that they (hall 
be caff, into that ba&omUfs pit which was prepared for the 
devil and his angels ; and that they mall dwell with ev?r~ 
fofting burnings. 

But your doctrine teaches, that though they be filthy 
at death or judgment, or any other period, yet they fhall 
not be akoays fo ; that though they be caft into the pit 
of deftruction, yet it fhall not prove bottomlcfs ; and that 
though they have to encounter devouring fire, yet they 
fhall not dwell with everlajling burnings. 

Therefore your doclrine is antifcripturaL But if your 
doclrine be antifcriptural, it is of that nature which tends 
to deceive the fouls of men ; and you will not be able to 
look them in the face another day, and ftiillefs Him who- 
hath charged you to be pure from the blood of all men. 

The firft three pofitions contaia the argument,- and the 
foft the inference. 

I mould think " the world," or rather the reader, did 
not need to be informed what argument there was in this- 
firing of fuppofit'ons : if he did, however, I have attempt^ 
fd> at your requeft, to give biro that informauoa* 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



With refpedt to building on " unfounded affumptions," 
for which I am accufed of " betraying my ignorance of 
" the fubject I have written againft," (No. ii. p. 45.) you 
have given us two inftances, which I fhall briefly txamine. 

Fir ft : I had afked, What doctrine, bejides that of Uni- 
verfal Salvation, will you find in the Bible which affords 
encouragement to a fmner going on ftill in his trefpaffes ; 
and which furnifhes ground for hope and joy, even fup- 
pofmg him to perfevere in fin till death ? What principle 
is it that is here a/Turned ? Why, (you anfwer) that the 
doctrine- of Univerfal Salvation does afford encourage- 
ment to a finner going on ftill in his trefpaffes, and does 
furnifh ground for hope and joy, even fuppofmg him to 
perfevere in fin till death. And is this indeed a quef- 
tion ? I took it for a felf-evident truth, and fuppofed 
you muft and would have acknowledged it. Whether 
you will or not, however, I appeal to the common fenfe 
of the reader, whether any pofition can be more felf-evi^ 
dent than the following — If the Scriptures teach that all 
men fhall be finally faved, every finner, whatever be his 
vicious courfes, is encouraged to expect eternal life : and 
though he ihould perfift in fin, till death, is warranted to 
hope and rejoice in the profpect of all being well with 
him at laft. For any man to deny this pofition, is to 
deny what is felf-evident, and there can be no farther 
reafoning with him. 

To allege in anfwer, That it will be always ill with 
the wicked uihile be continues fo, is trifling : for if the fin- 
ner be taught to believe at fome future period beyond 
this life he fhall be delivered both from fin and puniih- 
ment — whether the former branch of this deliverance 
afford him. joy or not, the latter muft. 

The fame queftion, you fay, might be afced concern- 
ing the doctrine of election. It might ; but I Ihould 
readily anfwer, No finner while going on ftill in his tref- 
paffes is warranted to confider himfelf as elected to falva- 
tion : therefore that doctrine affords no ground of hope 
and joy to perfons of this defcription. Can you fay the 
fame of the doctrine of Univerfal Salvation ? If there 
were the fame ground for an ungodly finner to conclude 
himfelf elected, as your doctrine affords for his conclud- 
ing that he fhall be eternally faved, the cafes w«mld be 



on Univerfal Salvation, 235 



parallel ; and both thefe doctrines would be alike ftibject 
to the charge of comforting thofe whom God would not 
have comforted : but as this is not true of election, your 
notion is ftill folitary, and your difficulty remains where 
it was. All the encomiums which you pafs upon the 
univerfal fcheme (No. ii. p. 41 — 44.) furnifties not a fin- 
gle example of any other divine truth which gives en- 
couragement to a fmner, while in his fins, to believe that 
in the end it fliall be well with him. The queftion there- 
fore Mill returns upon you, Whtit doclrine besides that of 
Univerfal Salvation will you find in the Bible 'which affords 
encouragement to a fnner going on fill in his trefpajfes> and 
•which fumifies ground for hope and joy, even fuppofng him 
to perfevere in them till death ? 

I do not fay, " let the world judge" whether this 
queftion proceeded on any unfounded affumption, and 
whether it be equally applicable to election as to Uni- 
verfal Salvation, becaufe I imagine it will be but a very 
fmall part of the world that will examine our produc- 
tions : but I am willing to make my appeal to the intel- 
ligent and impartial reader. And with refpect to you, 
Sir, the taik which you have fet yourfelf is before you ; 
either to " confefs it to be true," that your doctrine gives 
encouragement, hope and joy to wicked men ; or to 
" expofe the falfehood of this fuppofition more fully." 

In the fecond place, you charge me with " taking it 
" for granted that your views invalidate the divine 
•* threatenings towards finners and intimate that 
there is no " reafon" in what I fay, but upon the fup- 
pofition of your denying " all future punifnment." (No. 
ii. p. 45.) That I never fuppofed you to deny all future 
punifhment, I have already proved ; and that any thing 
which I advanced required fuch a fuppofition, you have 
not hitherto made appear. As to your invalidating the 
divine threatenings, fo far as the doctrine of Univerfal 
Salvation appears to me to operate m that way, fo far I 
muft of neceffity believe that you do : but whatever may 
be my belief, the queftion is, Have I built any conclu- 
fion upon it a6 an acknowledged truth ? If fo, how came 
I to entreat you to confider 'whether it *was not fo ? Is it 
ufual to entreat an opponent to confider whether that 
wljich we take for granted as an acknowledged truth, be 



Letters to Mr, Vidler 



true ? Undoubtedly T fuggefted this idea to you as being 
my judgment, which, however, I did not defire to im- 
pofe upon you, any farther than as it was fupported by 
evidence, and therefore at the fame time intimated what 
was the ground of that judgment ; namely, the near re* 
femblance between your labours and thofs of the deceiver of 
mankind. If you cannot perceive this refemblance, I 
cannot help it. Other people can and will. He per- 
fuaded his auditors that though they fhould tranfgrefs, 
yet the evil they had dreaded would not come upon 
them : they believed — and were net afraid to tranfgrefs. 
You perfuade your auditors that thoagh they mould die 
in their fins, yet the evil will not be fo great as they had 
been ufed to apprehend — God hath not faid, ye lhall die 
eternally ; and he means that you fhall all come where 
Jefus is. If they believe, muft they not be lefs afraid of 
tranfgremon than before ? 

And now, Sir, who is u ignorant," and who has been 
employed in " railing duft to hide the truth," are quef- 
tions which I leave you to refolve. It is enough for me 
if I have proved your charges to be unfounded : for if 
this be accomplifhed, your work ftill returns upon your 
hands ; as it will follow, that, notwithltanding all your 
challenges, and calling out for more to be written, yon. 
lose not yet anfwered the firft letter. 

Yours, &c. 

A. 



LETTER V. 

Evidences of endlefs puni/bment. 

Sir, 

°Y"oU feem to wifli to perfuade your readers that th> 
grounds on which I refl. my belief of the doctrine of end- 
lefs punifhment are very flender. The truth is, I have 
not at prefent attempted to ftate thofe grounds. Confid- 
ering myfelf as not engaged in a formal controverfy, I 
only introduced a few parages ; and to feverai of them 
jou-have hitherto niade no leply. The principal grounds 



§n Univerfal Salvation. 



237 



•n which I reft my belief of the doctrine you oppofe, are 
as follow : — 

I. All tbofe pajfages of fcripture 'which defcribe the future 
fates of men in contraf. 

" Men of the world, who have their portion in this 
V life : I (hall be fatisfied when I awake in thy likenefs 
** — The hope of the righteous fhall be gladnefs : but 
" the expectation of the wicked fhall perifh — The wicked 
f* is driven away in his wickednefs : but the righteous 
U hath hope in his death — And many of them that fleep 
** in the duft of the earth fhall awake ; fome to everlaft- 
" ing life, and fome to fhame and everlafting contempt 
u — He will gather his wheat into the garner, and will 
u burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire — Wide is the 
"gate, and broad is the way. that leadeth to deftruction, 
" and many there be who go in thereat ; becaufe ftrait is 
" the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, 
" and few there be that find it — Not every one that faith, 
" Lord, Lord, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; 
" but he that doech the will of my Father who is in heav- 
" en — Many (hall come from the eaft and weft, and (hall 
" fit down with Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob in the 
" kingdom of heaven ; but the children of the kingdom 
4t fhall be caft out into outer darknefs ; there fhall be 
** weeping and gnaftiing of teeth — Gather ye flrft the 
" tares, and bind them in bundles, to burn them : but 
" gather the wheat into my barn — The Son of Man fhall 
" fend forth his angels, and they fhall gather out of his 
" kingdom all things that offend, and them that do in- 
" iquity, and fhall caft them into a furnace of fire ; there 
" fhall be wailing and gnafhing of teeth : then fhall the 
" righteous fhine forth as the fun in the kingdom of their 
" Father^-The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, 
" that gathered fifh of every kind ; which, when it was 
" full they drew to the fhore, and fat down, and gather- 
" ed the good into vefTels, and caft the bad away. So 
" fhall it be at the end of the world ; the angels fhall 
" come forth, and fever the wicked from among the juft, 
" and fhall caft them into the furnace of fire ; there fhall 
" be wailing and gnafhing of teeth — BlefTed is that fer- 
«'vant, whom, when his Lord cometh, he fhall find fo 
« doing : but and if that evil fervant fhould fay in his 



238 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



"heart, My Lord delayeth his coming, and fhall begin 
" to fmite his fellow-fervants, and to eat and drink with 
" the drunken, the lord of that fervant fhall come in a 
" day, when he looketh not for him, and fhall cut him 
" afunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypo- 
" crites ; there mall be weeping and gnafhing of teeth — 
" Well done, good and faithful fervant ; enter thou into 
" the joy of thy Lcrd. But caft ye out the unprofitable 
" fervant, into outer darknefs ; there fhall be weeping 
" and gnafhing of teeth — Then fhall the King fay unto 
"them on his right hand, Come, ye bleffed of my Father, 
" inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founda- 
" tion of the world — Then fhall he alfo fay unto them on 
" the left hand, Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlaft- 
" ing fire, prepared for the devil and his angel? — And thefe 
" fhall go away into everlafting puniffcroent; but the right- 
"eous into everlafting life — He that believeth and is 
K baptized fhall be faved ; but he tljat believeth not mail 
"be damned — Bleffed are ye when men fnall hate you 
"for the Son of Man's fake. Rejoice ye in that day, 
"and leap for joy \ for behold, your reward is great in 
" heaven. But woe unto you that are rich ! for ye have 
" received your confolation — He that heareth my fay- 
"ings, and doeth them, is like unto a man who built his 
" houfe upon a rock ; and when the flood arofe, the ftorm 
" beat vehemently againft that houfe, and could not fhaks 
" it ; for it was founded on a rock. But he that heareth 
" and doeth not, is like unto a man who built his houfe 
" upon the earth, againft which the ftorm did beat vehe- 
" mently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that 
" houfe was great — God fo loved the world, that he gave 
" his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth on him, 
" mould not perifh, but have everlafting life — All that are 
" in their graves fhall come forth ; they that have done 
" good unto the refurrection of life, and they that have 
" done evil unto the refurreclion of damnation — Hath not 
" the potter power over the clay, of the fame]lump to make 
" one veffel unto honour, and another unto difhonour ^ 
" What if God, willing to mew his wrath, and to make 
" his power known, endured with much long-fuffering 
" the vefTels of wrath fitted to deftruclion ; and that he 
" might make known the riches of his glory on the veffels. 



on XJniver/al Salvation. 



239 



" of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory — 
" The Lord knoweth them that are his — But in a great 
"houfa there are veffels to honour and veffels to difhon- 
« our — Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; for what- 
** foever a man fowetfi, that fhall he alfo reap. For he 
u that foweth to the flefh, (hall of the flefh reap corrup- 
" tion ; but he that foweth to the Spirit, fhall of the Spir- 
" it reap life everiafting — That which beareth thorns and 
" briars is rejected, and is nigh unto curfing, whofe end 

is to be burned. But, beloved, we are perfuaded bet- 
u ter things of you, and which accompany falvation."* 

I confider thefe paffages as defigned to exprefs the 
final states of men, which if they be, it is the fame 
thing in effect as their being defigned to exprefs the doc- 
trine of endlefs punifliment ; for if the defcriptions here 
given of the portion of the wicked denote their final ftate, 
there is no poflibility of another (late fucceeding it. 

That the above paifages do exprefs the final ftates of 
men, may appear from the following considerations : — 

1. The ft ate of the righteous, which is all along oppof- 
«d to that of the wicked, is allowed to be final : and if 
the other were not the fame, it would not have been in 
fuch a variety of forms contrafted with it ; for it would 
not be a contraft. k 

2. All thefe paflages are totally filent, as to any other 
ftate following that of deftruction, damnation, &c. If 
the punifhment threatened to ungodly men had been on- 
ly a purgation, or temporary correction, we might have 
expected that fomething like this would have been inti- 
mated. It is fappoled that fome who are upon the right 
foundation may yet build upon it, 'wood, and hay, and 
fiubble j and that the party fhall /offer loft ; but he him/el/ 
Jhall be /aved, though it be as by fire. Now if the doctrine 

of Univerfal Salvation were true, we might expect fome 
fuch account of all lapfed intelligences, when their future 
ftate is defcribed : but nothing like it occurs in any of 
the foregoing pa/fages, nor in any other. 

* Pfal. xvii. 14, 15. Prov. x, 28. xiv. 32. Dan. xii. a. Matt. iii. 
12. vii. 13, 14, a 1. viii. u, 12. xiii. 30, 40—43,47 — 50. xxiv. 46 — 
51. xxv. 33, 30, 34, 41, 46. Mark xvi. 16. Luke vi, a3, a4, 47, 49. 
John iii. 16. v. aa. Rom. ix, %\ — 23. % Tim. ii. io, so. Gal. vi. 7, 

Heb. vi. 8, 9. 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



3. The phrafeology of the greater part of them is in- 
confiftent with any other ftate following that which they 
defcribe. On the fuppofition of falvation being appoint- 
ed as the ultimate portion of thofe who die in their fins, 
the}' have not their portion in this life ; but will, equally 
with thofe who die in the Lord, behold his righteoufnefs, and 
he fatisfied in his likenefs. Their expectation fhall not per- 
iJJj ; but fnall ilTue, as well as that of the righteous, in 
gladntfs : and though driven aivay in their wickednefs, yet 
they have hope in their deaths and that hope fhall be real- 
ized. The broad way doth not lead to dejlruclion, but 
merely to a temporary correction, the end of which is ev- 
erlafting life. The chafx will not be burned, but turned 
into wheat, and gathered into the garner. The tares 
will be the fame, and gathered into the barn ; and the 
bad fifh will be turned into good, and gathered into vef- 
fels. The curfed, as well as the bleffed, fhall inherit the 
kingdom of God ; which alfo was prepared for them from 
the foundation of the world. There may be a woe againft 
the wicked, that they fhall be kept from their confolation 
for a long time, but not that they have received it. Thofe 
who in the prefent life believe not in Chrift; fhall not perijh, 
but have everlafting life. This life alfo is improperly 
reprefented as the feed- time, and the life to come as the 
harveft, inafmuch as the feeds of heavenly blifs may be 
fown in hell : and though the finner may reap corruption, 
as the fruit of all his prefent doings, yet that corruption 
will not be the oppofite of everlafting life, feeing it will 
iflue in it. Finally : Though they bear briars and thorns, 
yet their end is not to be burned, but to obtain falvation. 

To the foregoing Scripture teftimonies may be added, 

II. All thofe pajfages 'which fpeak of the duration of future 
puniflmient by the the terms " everlajling, eternal, forever, and 
forever and ever — 

" Some fhall awake to everlafting life, and fome to . 
M fhame and everlajling contempt — It is better for thee to 
u enter into life halt, or maimed, than, having two hands, 
" or two feet, to be caft into everlajling fire — Depart ye 
M curfed into everlajling fire — And thefe fhall go into ev~ 
" erlafling punifhment — They fhall be punifhed widmw- 
" lafting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, and 
"from the glory of his power— He that fhall blafphem* 



on Univerfal Salvation. 



2*1 



* againft the Holy Ghoft is in danger of (or fubjecl: to) 
"eternal damnation — The inhabitants of Sodom and 
" Gomorrha are ft* forth for an example, fuffering the 
" vengeance of eternal fire — Thefe are wells without wa- 
'* ter, clouds that are carried with a tempeft, to whom the 
''• mift of darknefs is referved firever — Wandering ftars, 
u to whom is referved the blacknefs of darknefs forever — 
"If any man worfhip the bead, or his image, and receive 
"his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the fame mail 
" drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured 
" out without mixture into the cup of his indignation : 
" and he mall be tormented with fire and brimftone in 
*' the prefence of the holy angels, and in the prefence of 
" the Lamb : and the fmoke of their torment afcendeth 
*' up forever and ever : and they have no reft day nor 
" night — And they faid, Alleluia. And her fmoke rofe 
" up forever and ever — And the devil that deceived them 
11 was caft into the lake of fire and brimftone, where the 
" beaft and the falfe prophet are ; and mall be torment- 
u ed day and night forever and ever."* 

I have not mentioned Ifai. xxxiii. 14, becaufe I wifh 
to introduce no paflage but what {hall be allowed to re- 
fer to a future life. The Hebrew word tsbso in Dan. 
xii. 2. anfwers to the Greek cciav ; and whatever may be 
faid of the ambiguity of the term, the antithesis in this 
pailage, as in Matt. xxv. 46, determines it to mean the 
fame when applied to "Ihame and contempt," as when 
applied to life. 

As to the term uwnbs, rendered everlafing or eternal, 
Which you confider as proving nothing on account of its 
ambiguity, there is a rule of interpretation which I have 
long underftood to be ufed on other fubjecls by all good 
critics, and which 1 confider as preferable to your's. 
In my next letter I may examine their comparative mer- 
its. This rule is, That every term be taken in its proper 
fenfe, except there be foine thing in the fubjeil or connexion which 
requires it to be taken othernvife. Now, fo far as my ac- 

* Dan. xii. a. Matt, xvili. 8. xxv. 41-^-46. 2 Thefl*. i. 9. Mark 
iii; 29. Jude 7. % Ptt. ii. 17. Jude 13; Rev, xiv. io, it. xix. 3. 

XX, 10, 

Y 



242 



Litters to Mr. lldler 



quaintance with this fubjecl extends, it appears t9 be 
generally allowed by lexicographers, that is a com- 
pound of stu and *»», and that its literal meaning is akiays 
being;* alio that the meaning of its derivative au*u&' is 
endlefsy everloft'mg, or eternal. This term, im*^ which 
is very fparingly applied in the New Teftament to limit- 
ed duration, I always take in its proper fenfe, except 
there be fomething in the connexion or fubjecr, which 
requires it to be taken otherwife : and as I do not find 
this to be the cafe in any of thofe places where it is ap- 
plied to punilhment, I fee no reafoa in thefe cafes to de- 
part from its proper acceptation. Eveilafting punifh- 
ment is in fome of them oppofed to everlailing life, which, 
fo far as an antithefis can go to fix the meaning of a term, 
determines it to be of the fame force and extent. 

To allege that ihzfutje;7 requires a different meaning 
in this cafe to be given to the term, is to afiume what 
will not be granted. The proof that has been offered on 
this point will be considered hereafter. 

With refpect to the phrafes ™ cumi*, fir ever, and 
us nss x.zjz: rut austiai, forever and ever, I believe you 
will not find a fingle example in all the New Teftament 
of their being ufed to convey any other than the idea of 
endlefs duration. You tell us that y? cumm, fir- 

mer and ever* in Rev. xiv. 1 1, fnculd be rendered " to 
" the age of ages." Are you certain of this ? Admit- 

• Ariftotle the philofopher, who lived upwards of three hundred 
Years before the New Teftament was written, plainly tells us the 
meaning which the Greek writers of his time, and thofe who in his 
time, were accounted ancient?, affixed to this term. Speaking of 
the gods, whom he conlidered as immortal, and as having their 
refidence above the heavens, he fays, * The beings which exift there, 
neither exift ia place, nor does time make them grow old ; nor un- 
dergo they any change, being placed beyond the motion even of 
thofe who are' the fartheft removed (from the centre ;) but poffef- 
fing an unchangeable life, free from ail outward imprelEons, perfect- 
ly happy, and felf-funicient, they continue through all aisrvx, eter- 
nitv. And this the ancients admirably figniiied by the word itfeif : 
for thev call the tune of each perfon's life his sc^?, inafmuch as ac- 
cording to the lawj of nature, nothing (refpecting him) exifb out 
nf the limits of it ; and for the fame reafen that which comprehends 
the duration of the whole heaven, the whole of infinite time, and 
infinity itfeif, is called oucm, eternity ; taking its name from always 
being, («i isw) immortal and divine," 



f 



on Univerfal Salvation* 



243 



ting the principle of your tranflation, fome would have 
rendered it to ages cf ages : but render it how you will, 
the matting of the phrafe is the fame. You might ren- 
der it thus in other inftances, wherein it is applied to the 
happinefs of the righteous, or the glory to be afcribed to 
God ; but this would not prove that fuch happinefs and 
fuch glory were of limited duration, or that the phrafe 
in queftion is expreffive of it. 
To the above may be added, 

III. All tbofe pa]] ages which exprefs the duration of 
future punijhment by implication* or by forms of fpeech which 
imply the doctrine in quejlion. 

" I pray for them : I pray not for the world — The 
" blafphemy againft the Holy Ghofl: fhall not be forgiven 
" unto men> neither in this world, neither rn the world to 
" come — He hath never frgivenefs ; but is in danger of 
** eternal damnation — There is a fin unto death : I do 
w not fay that ye fhall pray for it — It is impoffible to 
" renew them again unto repentance — If we fin wilfully 
" after we have received the knowledge of the truth, 
** there remaineth no more facrifice for fins ; but a fear- 
" ful looking for of judgment, which fhall devour the 
" adverfaries — What is a man profited, if he fhall gain 
*' the whole world, and lofe himfelf, or be caft away ?— 
** Woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is be- 
" trayed : it had been good for that man if he had not 
" been born — Their worm dielH not, and the fire is not 
" quenched * — Betwixt us and you there is a great gulph 

fixed ; fo that they who would pafs from hence to you 

cannot, neither can they pafs to us who would come 
" from thence — He that believeth not the Son fhall not 
"fee life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him — I go my 
" way, and ye fhall feek me, and fhall die in your fins ; 
" whither 1 go ye cannot come — W'hofe end is deftru&ion 
" — He that fheweth no mercy lhall have judgment ivith- 

out ??2ercy"\ 

* Several times repeated in a few verfes. 
f John xvi. 9. Matt xii. 3r, 32 Mark iii. 29. I John v. 16. 
Heb. vi. 6. x. 26, 27. Luke ix. 25. Matt. xxvi. 24. Mark ix. 
43 — 48. Luke xv i. 26. John iii. 36. viii. 21. Phil. iii. I9> 
James ir. 13. 



H4 



Letters io Mr. V idler 



If there be fome for whom Jefus did not pray, there 
are fome who will have no (hare in the benefits of his medi- 
ation, without which they cannot be faved. If there be 
fome that never will be forgiven, there are fome that nev- 
er will be laved ; for forgiveness is an effential branch of 
falvation. Let there be what uncertainty there may in 
the word eternal in this inftance, ftill the meaning of it is 
rixed by the other branch of the fentence, they Jhall never 
he forgiven. It is equal to John x. 28. / give unto them 
eternal life, and they Jhall never periJJj. If there were any 
uncertainty as to the meaning of the word eternal in this 
latter paMage, yet the other branch of the fentence would 
fettle it : for that mull be endlefs life which is oppofed 
to their ever perijhing ; and by the fame rule, that muft 
be endlefs damnation which is oppofed to their ev,er being 
forgiven. If there be a fin, for the pardon of which Chrif- 
tians are forbidden to pray, it muft be on account of its 
being the revealed will of God that it never fhould be 
pardoned. If repentance be.abfolutely neceifary to for- 
givenefs, and there be fome whom it is impoflible fnould 
be renewed again unto repentance, there are fome whofe 
falvation is impoffible. If there be no ?nore facrifice for 
fi?is> but a fearful looking for cf judgment , this is the fame 
thing as the facrince already offered being of no faving 
effect ; for if it were other wife, the language would not 
contain any peculiar threatening againft the wilful finner, 
as it would he no more than might be faid to any finner ; 
nor would a fearful looking for of judgment be his certain 
doom. If the fouls of fome men will be lofi y or cajl anvay, 
they cannot all be faved ; feeing thefe things are oppo- 
iltes. A man may be loft in defert, and yet faved in 
fact' ; or he may fnffer Ufi, and yet himfelf be faved : but 
he cannot be loft, fo as to be caft away, and yet finally 
faved ; for thefe are perfect contraries. Whatever may 
be the precife idea of the fire, and the <uww, there can 
be no doubt of their expreffing the punifhment of the 
wicked ; and it being declared of the one that it dieth not, 
and of the other that it is not quenched, it is the fame thing 
as their being declared to be endlefs. It can be faid of 
no man, on the principle of Univerfal Salvation, that it 
'were good for kirn not to have been born : as whatever he 
Xnay endure for a feafon, an eternal weight of glory wilt 



on XJniverJal Salvation. 



Infinitely outweigh it. An impaffahle gulph between the 
hie/Ted and the accurfed equally militates againft the re- 
covery of the one, as the relapfe of the other. If fome 
fhall not fee life, but the wrath of God abkleth on them ; 
if thofe who die in their fins fhall not come where Jems 
is ; if their end be dellruclion, and their portion be judg- 
ment 'without mercy ; there mult be fome who will not be 
finally faved. 

To thefe may be added, 

IV. All thofe pajfages which intimate that a change of 
hearty and a preparednefs for heaven, are confined to the 
preftnt life : — 

" Seek ye the Lord while he may he found ; call ye up- 
" on him while he is near ; let the wicked forfake his way* 
" and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him 
" return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon 
" him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon 
*« — Becaufe I have called, and ye refufed ; I have 
" ftretched out my hand, and no man regarded .... 
u I alfo will laugh at your calamity, and mock when 
*' your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as defola- 
" tion, and your deftruction cometh as a whirlwind j 
" when diftrefs and anguifh come upon you ; then fhall 
" they call upon me, but I will not anfwer ; they fhall 
" feek me early, but fhall not find me — Then faid one 
" unto him, Lord, are there few that fhall be faved ? 
*« And he faid unto them, Strive to enter in at the ftrait 
" gate : for many, I fay unto you, mail feek to enter in 
" and fhall not be able — When once the mafter of the 
** houfe hath rifen up, and fhut to the door, and ye be- 
" gin to ftand without, and to knock at the door, faying, 
" Lord, Lord, open unto us ; he fhall anfwer and fay 
M unto you, I know you not whence you are . . . fc 
" Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity .... there 
" fhall be weeping and gnafhing of teeth — While ye have 
" the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the chil- 
" dren of light — While they (the foolifh virgins) went 
** to buy, the bridegroom came ; and they that were 
M ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door 
" was fljut — We befeech you, that ye receive not the 
« grace of God in vain .... Behold now is the accepted 
Y 2 



Leiitrs & Mr* Vidtet 



u time, now is the day of falvatioa — To-day, if ye wiU 
" hear his voice, harden not your hearts-— Looking dili* 

gently left any man fail of the grace of God .... left 
<{ there be any fornicator or profane perfon, as Efau, 
44 who for one morfel of, meat fold his birthright. Foj? 
*' ye know how that afterward, when he would have in- 
^'herited the blefllng, he was rejected : for he found no 
* s place of repentance, though he fought it carefully 
" with tears — He that is unjuft, let him be unjuft ftill 
*^ and he that is filthy, let him be filthy ftill ; and he that 
** is righteous, let him be righteous ftill ; and he that is 
" holy, let him be holy ftill."* 

According to thefe Scriptures there will be no fuccefT- 
ibl calling upon the Lord after a certain period ; and 
confequently, no falvation — Whether there be few that 
ihall ultimately be faved, our Lord does not inform us 5 
felt he aflures us that there will be many who will not be 
faved s or, which is the fame thing, who will not be able 
to enter in at the ftrait gate. None, it is plainly inti- 
mated, will be able to enter there, who have not agoniz- 
ed here. There will be no believing unto falvation, but 
while we have the light ; nor any admiffion into the king- 
dom, unkfs we be ready at the coming of the Lord. The 
prefent is the accepted ti?ne. the day, of falvation, or the fea- 
fbn for finners to be faved. If we continue to harden 
our hearts through life, he will fwear in his wrath- that 
we fhall not enter into his reft. If we kirn away, from- 
kirn who fpeaketh from heaven, it will be equally inrpofljble 
ibr us to obtain the bleffing, as it was for Efaia, after he 
had delpifed hi-s birthright, finally ; Beyond a certain, 
period there Ihall be no more change of character ; but 
.every one will have received that impreffion which {hall 
remain forever,, whether he be juft or unjuft,. filthy or 
holy. 

In this letter I have endeavoured to ftate the grouodfc 
<jf my own perfuafion : in the next I may examine the: 
reafonings, and objections which you have advanced a- 
gainft it. The greater part of this evidence being taker*. 

* Ifai, lv. 6, 7 • Prov. i. 04-^28. £uke xiii. 24— 19, John »v 
36. Matt, % Cor. vi. i 4 %.. Hcb.iii.?, 1 1, xii. 14 — *7* 



on TJmverfal Salvation* 



247 



from our Lord's difcourfes, who knew the truth, and 
was himfelf to be the judge of the worlds renders it pe- 
culiarly interesting. If a preacher in thefe times deliv- 
ered half fo much on the fubject, you would denominate 
him " a brawler of damnation," 

You**, .&*:* 

4r S- 



LETTER VL 

Replies to Objettions* 

In a former letter I fuggeiled. That whether the Scrip*- 
t-ures teach the doctrine of endlefs punilhm.nt, or rot,, 
they certainly appear to do fo. Whether this fiiv; : ^on 
was unfounded, the evidence in my- lalt letter mu:t de- 
termine. You attempt, however, to difcredit it, by aU 
leging the. few inftances in which the terms ever? everlajl- 
rng, Sec. as connected with future puniihment, are med 
in the Scriptures. 

" Ever-lafiing, as connected with the future punifhrnent 
u of mtfh (you fay) is ufed only fivt times in the Old md 
" New Teftament ; and yet this fame word is ufed in 
*' the Scriptures at leaft ninety times, very generally in- 
** deed in relation to things that either have ended, or- 
¥ muft end." — You proceed, " As to the word eternal, 
** which is of the fame meaning, it is ufed in the text and 
" margin upwards of forty times in the whole Bible ; one 
u of which there are only two which can be fuppefed to 
" relate to future punifhrnent."* You mould have pro- 
ceeded a little farther, Sir,, and have told us how often 
the terms ever, forever, and forever and ever, are applied 
to this fubject ; as the distinction between them and the 
words everiaftiKg and eternal, is chief]/ Znglifh, and as 
you have allowed that it is from the ufe of the one, as 
well as the other, that I fuppofe the Scriptures mufti 
** appear" to teach the doctrine of endlefs punifhrnent*. 



Ujiiv. Mif. No., xxxv. pv3*& 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



As a candid reafoner, you fhould alfo hare forborne t# 

mention Jude 6. with a view to diroinifh the number of 
teftirocnies ; as it is not to the endlefs punifhment of men 
only that you object. By thefe means, your number 
would at leaft have extended to eleven* inftead of feven-. 

But pafiing this, I fhall offer a few observations on 
your reafoning. — Firfl : If the term evertafting be appli- 
ed to future punifhment five or fix tiroes out of ninety, 
m which it is ufed in the Scriptures, this may be as large 
a proportion as the fubject requires. It is applied in the 
Scriptures to more than twenty different fubjefts ; fa 
that to be applied five or fix times to one, is full as fre- 
quent a ufe *.f it as ought to be expected. 

Secondly : If the application of the term everlafiing to- 
future punifhment, only five or fix times, difcredit the 
very appearance of its being endlefs, the fame or nearly 
the fame may be faid of the extflenee of God, to which it 
is applied not much more frequently. You might gd 
over a great part of the facred writings on this fubjecl:, 
as you do on the other, telling us that not only many of 
the Old Teitament writers make no ufe of h, but a large 
proportion of the New ; that Matthew never applies the 
word to this fubjecl, nor Mark, nor Luke, nor John r 
that it is not fb applied m the Acts of the apoftles ; and 
though Paul once ufes it in his epiftle to the Romans, yeC 
he clofes that and ail his other epiftle s without fo ufing 
ft again ; that James did not ufe it, nor Peter, nor John,, 
either in his three epiftles, or in the Apocalypfe. And 
when you had thus eftablifbed your point, yon might 
afk, with an air of triumph, " Is this a proof that the 
44 Scriptures appear to teach" the eternal exiftence of 
God ? Truly, Sir, I am afliamed to refute fuch trifling r 
yet if I were not, your readers might be told, that doubt- 
lefs I had " cogent reafons" for my filence. 

Thirdly : If any conclufion can be drawn from the 
number of times in which a term is ufed in the Scrip- 
tures, that number Ihould be afcertained from the lan- 
guages in which they were written, and not from a tranf- 
iation, which on fuch a fubjed proves nothing ; but if 
this had been done, as it certainly ought, by a writer of 
your preteniions, we fhould have heard nothing of num- 
ber Uo9t nor of number jhe. 



on Univerfal Salvation. 



Fourthly : You tell us not only that " the word ever- 
«* lading is ufed very generally indeed in relation to 
«* things that either have ended, or muft end,'* but that 
the word which is fo rendered, was by the Old Tefta- 
ment writers " moft generally" fo applied.* By " the 
" word which we render everlafting," I fuppofe you 
mean sW, though there are other words, as well as this, 
which are rendered everlafting, and this word is not al- 
ways fo rendered. I have carefully examined it by a 
Hebrew concordance, and, according to the bell of ray 
judgment, noticed, as I went along, when it is applied 
to limited, and when to unlimited duration ; and I find 
that, though it is frequently ufed to exprefs the former, 
yet it is. more frequently, even in the Old Teftament, ap- 
plied to the latter. I do not allege this fact as being of 
any confequence to the argument ; for if it had been on 
the other fide, it would have proved nothing. It would 
not have been at all furprifmg, if, in a book, wherein fo 
little is revealed concerning a future ftate, the word mould 
have been ufed much more frequently in a figurative, than 
in a proper fenfe ; but as far as I am able to judge, the 
fact is otherwife. 

In looking over the various paflages in which the word 
occurs, I perceive that in many of thofe in.ftances which 
I noted as examples of the limited ufe of it, the limitation 
is fuch as arifes neceflarily from the kind of duration, or 
ftate of being, which is fpoken of. When Hannah de- 
voted her child Samuel to the Lord forever^ there was no 
limitation in her mind : fhe did not intend that he mould 
ever return to a private life. Thus alfo, when it is faid 
of a fervant whofe ear was bored in his matter's houfe> 
he mall ferve him forever, the meaning is, that he fhould 
never go out fwee. And when Jonah lamented that the 
earth with her bars was. about him- forever, the term is. 
not expreffive of what it actually proved, namely, a three- 
days imprifonment, as you unaccountably conftrue it ;f 
but of what it was in his apprdlienfims, which were, that 
fee was cut off from the land of. the living, and liquid 
Tuvm mjore fee the light. 

* Univ. Mif. No. xxxv, p. 328, 329, 
I Univ. Mji, No. i. p. 6. 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



So far as my obferv ations extend, the wore, whenever 
applied to a future flute, is to be taken in the endlefs 
fenfe ; and this you yourfelf will allow, except in thofi 
fijfages nvhtch relate to future punifoinent. You therefore 
plead for a meaning to the term, in relation to this fub- » 
ject, which has nothing parallel in the Scriptures to fup» 
port it. 

In the New Teftamcnt, the future Rate is a frequent 
topic with the facred writers ; and there, as might be 
expefted, the terms rendered everlaJHng 9 eternal, forever y 
&c. are generally applied in the endlefs fenfe. Of this 
you feem to be aware ; and therefore, after afferting that, 
by Old Teftament writers, the term rendered everlafting 
was " raoft generally'' applied otherwife, you only add 
concerning New Teftament writers, that they " ufe it 
" but a few times in relation to future punimment a 
remark, as we have already feen, of but very little ac- 
count. If a particular term mould be applied to one 
fubjecr. only five or fix times, it does not follow that the 
evidence is fcanty. There may be other terms equally 
expreffive of the fume thing ; and the foregoing letter, 
it is prefumed, has given proof that this is the cafe in the 
prefent inftance. -\nd if there were no other terms to 
convey the fentiment, five or fix f>lemn affeverations on 
any one fubjeel ought to be reckoned fufficient, and more 
than fufrkient to command our affent ; and if rb, furely 
th-y may be allowed to justify the aiTertiou, that the 
Scriptures appear, at leaft, to teach the doctrine of ever- 
lafting nunifnraent. 

la answering what I confidered as a mifconftruction- 
of a palfige of Scripture (Rev xiv. 19.) I fuggeited that 
the phrafe, day and night, was not expreffive of a fuccef- 
five or terminable duration, but a figurative mode of 
lpeech, denoting perpetuity. " It follows then (fay you) 
u that your beft ground for believing that there is no 
** fucceflive duration after the end of thi world, is only 
•* a figurative expreflion or two."* Did ever a writer 
draw fuch an inference ! What I alleged was not for the 
purpofe of proving endlefs punimment, but merely t& 
correct what I confidered as a mifinterpietation of a pa£ 



* Uaiv. Mif. No. xxxv. p. 



on Unlverfal Salvation. 



251 



fage of Scripture. Tf this be your method of drawing 
confequences, we need not be furprifed at your inferring 
the doctrine of Univerfal Salvation from the holy Scrip- 
tures. 

I thought that you, as well as myfelf, had better not 
have attempted to criticize on Hebrew and Greek terms. 
You think otherwife. Very well : we have a right then 
to expect more at your hands. Yet, methinks, you 
ihould have been contented to meet an opponent, who 
never proferTed to have a competent acquaintance with 
either of thofe languages, on his own ground : or if not, 
you mould either have affumed a little lefs confequence, 
or have fupported your pretenfions with a little better 
evidence. To be fure it was very kind. in you to inform 
me, that though ««yv and ouwiog agree, in fome refpects, 
with the Englilh words eternity and eternal, yet they will 
not always bear to be rendered by thefe terms. I ought 
equally to thank you, no doubt, for teaching me, and 
that repeatedly, that " as for the word eternal, it is the 
" fame in the original which is tranflated everlafting." * 
Serioufly, May not a perfon, without pretending to be 
qualified for Greek criticifms, underftand fo much of the 
meaning of words as to Rand in no need of the foregoing 
information ? Nay more : Is it not poffible for him to 
know that the Greek words aim and u,tmi(&> will not al- 
ways bear to be rendered by the Englilh words eternity, 
everlajling, or eternal ; and yet perceive no evidence that 
the one are lefs expreffive of endlefs duration than the other P 

This, if it muil be fo called, was my " hypothefis." 
To overturn it, you allege that the Greek terms will 
" admit of a plural," and of the pronouns this and that 
before them, which the Englilh will not.f So far as this 
is the cafe, it may prove that there is feme difference be- 
tween them ; but not that this difference confifls in the 
one being lefs exprejfive of endlefs duration than the other. 
Words in Englifh, that are properly expreffive of endlefs 
duration, may not ordinarily admit of a plural ; and if 
this were univerfally the cafe, it would not follow that it 
:s the fame in Greek. Nor is it fo : for the idea of end- 

* No. i. p. 7. No. xxxv. p. 238. 
. t f Univ. Mif. No. xxxv. p. 332, 333. 



252 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



Ids duration is frequently conveyed by thefe very plural 
forms of expreffion. Thus in Ephef. iii. 11. x.k,tk Trpohru 
tojv KKivm i according to his eternal purpcfe. So alfo in 1 
Tim. i. 17. T« SxtTiXei rav cciavcov, utyDsipru, uopurco, p.o\cd 
s-ctyy Gov, rif.iv 6ig aiavxg raw uionscv. Now unto 

the king eternal, immortal invifble, the only wife God, be hon- 
our and glory, forever and ever. Render thefe paffages 
how you will, you cannot do them juftice unlefs you ex- 
prefs the idea of unlimited duration. And though the 
Englim terms may not admit of what is termed a plural 
form, yet they admit of what is equal to it : for though 
we do not fay everlaflings, nor eternities, yet we fay forever 
and ever ; and you might as well contend, that forever 
cannot properly mean unlimited duration, feeing another 
ever may be added to it, as that eum muft needs mean a 
limited duration, on account of its admitting a plural 
form of expreffion. You might alfo, with equal propri- 
ety? plead for a plurality of even in futurity, from the 
En • ifh phrafeology, as for a plurality of ages from the 
Greek. 

With refpect to the admiffion of the pronouns this and 
that, we ufe the expreffions this eternity of blifs, or that 
eternity of blifs ; nor does fuch language, being applied 
to a ftate of exiftence, exprefs the idea of limitation* 
The very paffage that you have quoted (Luke xx. 35.) 
where ataiv is rendered world, and admits of the pronoun 
that before it, refers to a ftate which you yourfelf, 1 mould 
fuppofe, would allow to be endlefs. 

For any thing you have hitherto alleged, the Greek 
words ct,im and eciavi<&> are no lefs expreflive of endlefs 
duration, than the Englim words everlafting and eternal i 
the latter, when applied to temporary concerns, are ufed 
in a figurative or improper fenfe as frequently as the 
former. And if this be a truth, it muft follow,- that the 
continual recurrence to them by your writers, is no' better than 
a Jing-fong ; a mere afje&ation of learning, ferving to mijlead 
the ignorant. 

You make much of your rule of interpretation, that 
" Where a word is ufed in relation to different things, 
" the fubject itfelf muft determine the meaning of the 
" word." (p. 333O You are fo confident that this rule 
is unobjectionablei as to intimate your belief, that I " fliall 



§n Univerfal Salvation, 



u not a fecond time have the temerity to reprove you for 
" the ufe of it." If you examine, you will perceive that 
I have not objected to it a firft time yet, but rather to 
your manner of applying it. I mail take the liberty, 
however, to object to it now, whatever " temerity" it 
may imply. I know not who thofe " beft critics" are, 
from whom you profefs to have taken it, but to me it ap- 
pears difrefpectful to the Scriptures, and inadmiffible. 
It fuppofes that all thofe words which are ufed in rela- 
tion to different things (which, by the way, almoft all 
words are) have no proper meaning of their own, and 
that they are to (land for nothing in the decifion of any 
queftion ; but are to mean any thing that the fubject to 
which they relate can be proved to mean without them. 
Had you faid, that the fubject, including the fcope of the 
writer, rauft commonly determine whether a word mould 
be taken in a literal or in a figurative fenfe, that had 
been allowing it to have a proper meaning of its onvn ; 
and to this I mould have no objection ; but to allow no 
meaning to a term, except what mall be imparted to it 
by the fubject, is to reduce it to a cypher. 

But exceptionable as your rule of interpretation is in 
itfelf, it is rendered much more fo by your manner of 
applying it. If under the term " fubject" you had in- 
cluded the fcope and defign of the writer, it had been fo 
far good ; but by this term you appear all along to mean, 
the doclrine of future punifloment abfracledly confidered from 
what the Scriptures teach concerning it ; at leaft from what 
they teach by the terms which profelfedly denote its du- 
ration. You require that " there be fomething in the 
" nature of future punilhment which neceifarily leads us 
" to receive the word ctta)vi(&> in an endlefs fenfe ; in which 
" cafe (as you very properly add) it is not the <word> but 
" the fubjecl which gives the idea of endlefs duration." * 
What is this but faying, We are to make up our minds 
on the duration of future punifhment from the nature and 
fltnefs of things ; and having done this, we are to under- 
Hand the Scripture terms which are defigned to exprefs 
that duration, accordingly ? But if we can fettle this bufi- 
nefs without the aid of thofe Scripture terms, why do wg 



* Univ. Mif. p. 329. 
Z 



»54 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



trouble them ; and what is the meaning of all yGiir criti- 
cifms upon them ? If they are fo " weak, from their 
" vague and undeterminate application in Scripture," 
that nothing certain can be gathered from them, why 
not let them alone ? It fhould feem as though all youf 
critical labour upon thefe terms was for the fake of iraf- 
pofing filence upon them. 

I do net know that endlefs punifhment can be proved 
from die nature of things ; but neither can it be difprov- 
ed. Our ideas of moral government, and of the influ- 
ence of fin upon it,- are too contracted to form a judgment 
a priori upon the fubject. It becomes us to liften with 
humility and holy awe to what is revealed in the oracles 
of truth, and to form cur judgment by it. When I fug- 
gefted, That " the nature of the fuhjecr. determined that 
44 the term everlafting, when applied to future punhh- 
" ment, was to be taken in the endlefs fenfe," I intended 
no more than that fuch is the fenfe in which it is ufed 
when applied to a future ftate. 

By your rule of interpretation, I have the " temerity" 
\o fay again, you might difprsve almoft any thing jou pieafe. 
I obferved before, that if one mould attempt to prove 
the divinity of the Son of Gcd, or even of the Father, 
from his being called jekovatf your mode of reafening 
would render all fuch evidence of no account ; becaufe 
the fame appellation is fometimes given to an altar, &c. 
You reply by infilling, that yen interpret this term by the 
fuhjeci. But if you interpret it as you do the term gf**^, 
it is not the name Jehovah that forms any part cf the 
ground of your conclufion. You do not, on this princi- 
ple, believe God to be felf-exifient from his being called 
Jehovah; but that the name Jehovah means fel£cx*ft- 
ent, becaufe it is applied to Gcd, whom* from other con - 
siderations, you know to be a fBf-exiftent being. If 
Chrift were called Jehovah a thoufand times, you could 
not, on this account^ believe him to be the true God, ac- 
cording to your principle ; becaufe the fi.me word, be- 
ing applied to ether things, its meaning can only be de- 
termined by the fubjetl ; and in this cafe, as you fay, it is 
not the word but the fubject that gives the idea. 

The rule adopted in my laft letter allows a proper 
meaning to every Scripture term, and does not attempt 



on Univerfal Salvation. 255 



to ict it afids in favour of one that is improper or figura- 
tive, unlefs the ftope of the pa ([age or the nature of the fubjett 
require it. This is a very different thing from not ad- 
mitting it, unlefs the fubjecl, from its own nature, render it 
abfolutely necejfary. The one is treating the proper mean- 
ing of a Scripture word with refpect, not diipenfing with 
it, but upon urgent neceflity : the other is treating it with 
indignity, refilling it adxnifiion, except where it cannot 
be denied. 

You refer me to Hab. iii. 6. as a parallel pr.fLge with 
Matt. xxv. 46. in which the fame word is ufed in the 
fame text in a different fenfe.* But thefe paflages are 
not parallel ; for there is no fuch antithefis in the one as 
in the other. It has been thought, and I apprehend is 
capable of being proved, that the everlafting ways or 
paths of God, denote thofe very goings forth by which 
he fcattered the mountains, and caufed the hills to bow; 
and that the term everlafting, in both inftances, is expref- 
fjve of merely limited duration. But admitting that the 
everlafting hills are eppofed to the everlafting ways of 
God, cr that the one were only lafting. and the other 
properly everlafting ; ftill the antithefis in this cafe natur- 
ally directs us fo to expound them ; whereas in Matt. xxv. 
46. it directs us to the contrary. Jf there be an oppofi- 
tion of meaning in the one cafe, it lies in the very term 
everlafting ; or between the duration of the hills and that 
of the divine ways ; but the oppofition in the ether is be- 
tween life and punifme?it, and the adjective everlafting, 
is applied in common to both ; which, inftead of requir- 
ing a different fenfe to be given to it, requires the contra- 
ry. The words recorded by Matthew are parallel to 
thofe in John v. 29. Some fo all come forth to the refarrec~ 
tfon of life, a?id fome to the refurreclion of damnation ; and 
we might as rationally contend for a different meaning 
to the term " refurreccion" in the one cafe, as to the 
term " everlafting" in the other. 

But befides all this, by year manner of quoting the 
paifage, you would induce one to fuppofe that you had 
taken it merely from the Englifh tranflation, which in a 
man of your pretenfions, would be hardly excufable j 
for though the fame word be twice ufed in the pafTage> 



* U. M. No. xxxv. p. 331. 



2 £ 6 Letters to Mr. Vidler. 



yet it is not in thofe places which you have marked as 
being fo : the inftances which you have pointed out as 
being the fame word, are not the fame, except in the 

EnglifJy tranjlaiion. 

It was afked, Whether ftronger terms could have been 
nfed concerning the duration of future punifhment than 
thofe that are ufed? You anfwer, " The queftion ought not 
" to be what language God could have ufed, but what is 
M the meaning of that which he has ufed ?"* I mould 
have thought it had been one way of afcertaining the 
itrength of the terms that are ufed, to inquire whether 
they be equally ftrong with any which the language af- 
fords ? Should this be the cafe, it muft follow, that if they 
do not convey the idea of endlefs duration, it is not in the 
power of language, or, at leaft, of that language to con- 
vey it. 

You fugged a few examples, however, which in your 
apprehenfion would have been ftronger, and which, if it 
had been the defign of the Holy Spirit to teach the doc- 
trine of endlefs punifhment might have been ufed for the 
purpofe. "I refer you (fay you) to Heb. vii. 16. ccxxrxX* 
*' vrog, endlefs, fay our translators. The word (you add) 

is never connected in Scripture with punifhment, and 
" but this once only with life ; which however fhews that 
(i the facred writers fpeak of future life in a different way 
«' than they do of punifhment." (p. 334.) It is true that 
the term axetTxXvros, is here applied to life ; but not, as 
you infmuate, to that life of future happinefs which is op- 
pofed to punifhment. The life here fpoken of is that 
which pertains to our Lord's priefthood, which is oppo- 
fed to that of Aaron, wherein men nw not fujfered to con- 
tinue by reafon of death. The word fignifies indijfoluble ; 
and being applied to the nature of a priefthood which 
death could not diffohe, is very properly rendered endlefs. 
It poffibly might be applied to the endlefs happinefs of 
good men, as oppofed to the dijjoluble or tranfitory enjoy- 
ments of the prefent ftate ; but as to the punifhment of 
the wicked, fuppofmg it to be endlefs, I queftion whether 
it be at all applicable to it. I can form no idea how the 
term indijfoluble, any more than incorruptible, can apply to 
punifhment. The word xxtxXvcj, to unloofe or dijfolve 3 it is 



* U. M. No. xxxv. p. 334. 



on Univcrfui Salvation. 



*S7 



true, is faid to refer to travellers loafing their own burdens, 
or thofe of their beafts, when they retted by the way : but 
there are no examples of its being ufed with reference to 
the termination of punifhment ; npr does it appear to be 
applicable to it. In its mod common acceptation in the 
New Teftament, it fignifies to deftroy or demolijl) ; and 
you will fcarcely fuppofe the facred writers to fuggeft 
the idea of a deflrttcfion which cannot be dejlroyed. 

You offer a fecond example, referring me to Ifai. xlv, 
17. Ifrael foall mt he confounded^ 'world without e?td .** 
but this is farther off ftill — In the firft place, The phrafe 
is merely Englijh* and therefore affords no example of 
" Greek," for which it is profeiTedly introduced. — Sec- 
ondly, It is not a translation from the Greek, but from 
the Hebrew. To have done any thing to purpofe, you 
fhould have found a Greek word which might have been 
applied to punifhment, ftronger than atmio? : or if you 
muft needs go to another language, you fhould have prov- 
ed that the Hebrew words in Ifai. xlv. 17. which are ap- 
plied to future happinefs, are ftronger than the Greek, 
word a.iom<&>, which is applied to future punifhment ; but 
if you had attempted this, your criticifms might not have 
perfectly accorded, as they are the fame words which you, 
elfewhere tell us, would, if " literally rendered, be age and 
ages ;"f and therefore are properly expreflive of only a lim- 
ited duration. And why did you refer us to the OldTcf- 
tament ? It could not be for the want of an example to- 
be found in the New. You know, I dare fay, that the. 
Englifh yhrsSe&worid without end- occurs in Ephef. iii. 21. 
And are the Greek wordb there ufed ftronger than etwv* 
sjnd its derivatives ? On the contrary, they are the very 
words made uje of, and in a plural form too ; e«s «r«5-a^ 
Tic- : yivix,; T*>j euma$ mmetf, throughout all ages world 
withrut end. Had thefe very terms been applied to future 
punifhment, you would have pleaded for a different trans- 
lation, and denied that they were expreihve of endlefs, 
duration. 

Without pretending to any thing like, a critical knowl- 
edge of either the Greek or Hebrew language, I can per- 
ceive, Sir, that all your arguments have hitherto beetii 
* U. M. No, xxxv. p. 334. 
^ U, M. N0 f *«vi. p. ifi^ 

' 2U 



25 3 Letters to Mr. Vidler 

merely founded upon Englijh phrafeology ; and from your 
tranflating *tp and obi? age and ages?* as though one were 
the fmgular, and the other the plural ; and «<? etwvets uiwm 
to the age of ages, as though one here alfo were the fmgu- 
lar and the other the plural ; as well as from your 
reference to *kc<.tuXv?6$ as a proper term to be applied to 
endiefs punifhment, I am furnifhed with but little induce- 
ment to retract my opinion, that you had better not have 
meddled with thefe fubjects. 

Yours, &c. 

Ketieriftgy March 17, 1800. 

A. F. 



LETTER VII. 

An Examination of Mr. V.'s Syflem and his Arguments in 
Support of it. 

Sir, 

I HAVE certainly to beg your pardon for having mif- 
underftood you with refpect tG the doctrine of annihilation. 
I did not obferve how you oppofed the idea of endiefs 
punifhment on the one -hand, and annihilation on the 
other. In this matter I fubmit to your correction, arid 
readily acquit you of all thofe abfurdities which would 
have - followed the admiffion of that principle. Other 
parts of that letter, however, you have but lightly touch- 
ed ; and fome of them are entirely pa/Ted over. 

As to your conjectures about my motives, both you and 
ycurfriends might have been as well employed in fcmethirg 
ejfe. I can truly fay, that I never wrote a line in my 
life with a view to " raife a duft" that might obfcure the 
truth ; and it is difficult to fuppofe that any perfon, un- 
lefs he himfelf had been in the habit of doing fo, would 
have thought of imputing it to another. 

It is. my defire to underftand you, and not to wrefl 
any of your words to a meaning which they do not fair- 
ly include. I have endeavoured to collect your fenti* 

* U. jM No, xxxyL p. 364. 



on Univerfal Salvation. 



-59 



ments as well as I am able. The amount of your firft 
maxim, in page 330, appears to me to be this: — 'That 

* if God created men, and placed them in circumftances 
' which he certainly foreknew would iifue in their fall 
' and ruin, he willed this their fall and ruin ; and that it 

* is of no importance that he forewarned them to avoid 

* the evil : whatever be the event, he is chargeable with 
« it. But God (you fay) hath fworn by himfelf, that he 

* willeth not the death of him who dieth ; that is, he will- 
' eth it not as death finally or limply, or deftruction irre- 

* coverable. If, therefore, it occur, it is a part of his 

* economy of grace, and finally a miniftration unto life ; 

* for he hath declared that it is his will that all fliould be 
' faved : therefore the doctrine which forges any contra- 

* ry will, falfifies fupreme unchangeable truth.' 

Thus it feems you reckon, that you acquit your Crea- 
tor of injuftice, which muft otherwife attach to his char- 
acter and conduct. Let us examine this matter. It is 
true, that whatever exifts muft, in fome fenfe, accord 
v/ith the will of God. 1 Let the blafphemer make what 
ufe he may of it, it may be afked, Who hath refifted his 
• will ? God willeth not evil, however, as evil, but per- 
mits its exiftence for wife ends. The good that ihall 
arife from it, and not the evil, is the proper object of di- 
vine volition. But it is net true, "that God is on this ac- 
count chargeable with man's fin ; that all his cautions 
and warnings are of no account ; and that he is to be 
*' accu^d'* of the death of the fmner, if he die eternally. 
If it be, however, it is not the doctrine of univerfal fal- 
vation that will free him from the charge. 

I am furprifed, Sir, that you could allow yourfelf in 
this manner to reproach your Maker. You cannot al- 
lege all thefe things as merely attaching to my fyftem. 
It is a fact — is it not ? That God did place man in circum- 
ftances which he certainly foreknew would ilTue in his fall ;. 
and that he did, notwithstanding, caution and warn him 
againft apoftacy, and ftill continues to caution and warn 
fmnersagainft thofe very fins which he certainly foreknows 
they will commit : Who then is this that dares to arraign 
his conduct, and to accufe him of infmcerity ? Who, that 
at one ftroke, aims to fweep away the accountablencfs of 
his creatures ; and to charge him with the evil of their fin, 
on account of hishavingpliicedtheminfuchcircumftances ? 



i6o 



Letters to Mr. Vidler 



If it be as you infinuate, it mud follow, That man is 
not blame-worthy in all Jiis rebellion againft his Maker, 
nor juftly accountable for any of its confequences. 
Whether thofe confequences be eternal, makes nothing to 
the argument. Sin, and all the evils which follow upon 
it, are by you transferred from the finner to the account 
of his Creator ! State your fuppontion with reference to 
your own principle — 1 Suppofe him about to create twen- 
' ty men. He knows ten of them wiH become vicious, 
c and confequently expofed to the tremendous penalty of 
4 damnation for ages cf ages. Who doubts, in fuch a 

* cafe, that he wills that penalty, who, being almighty and 

* all-knowing, does that, without which it could not 
' come to pafs ; and who will not accufe him of their 

* damnation — having fent them into fuch circumftances !* 
Thus, Sir, you undermine the juftice all punimment, 
prefent and future, and every principle cf moral govern- 
ment. 

Let no ?nan fay nvhen he is te?npted i I a??i te??:ptsd cf God, 
_ Yes, fays Mr. Vidler, it is he, who, " knowing all events, 
** and placing us in fuch circumftances as he does, that 
(i is accountable ! And it is of no importance in the con- 
* c fideration cf common fenfe, that he cautions or fore- 
" warns us againd the evil." 

If what you have fuggefted be true, i: milft alfo fol- 
low, that there is no need cf a mediator, or of forgiving 
mercy. Where there is no blame, it is an infult to talk 
of forgivenefs, or of the need of a mediator to effect a 
reconciliation. Ail that is necerTary to recover man is 
judice. If the Creator only be accountable for the evil, 
:t belongs to him to remedy it. Thus, imtead cf fup- 
porting the dcctrine cf univerfal falvation, ycu undermine 
all falvation at the very foundation. 

Think not that you lhall be able to roll away this re- 
proach, which you have had the temerity to charge on 
your Creator, by fuggefiing that all the evil which fol- 
lows will be ultimately a benefit ; for fiili it follows that 
man lias not been blame-worthy in finning againft God j. 
that God has never been fmcereinhis cautions and warnings i 
and that, being accountable for the whole, it but juf^ 
tice to man that he turn all to his ultimate advantage, 
S.s a ^ :^ coir: penis for prefent injury, " He. fent his chu- 



§n XJniverfal Salvation, 



26l 



" dren into the wood, it feems, where he knew the poi- 
" fonous fruit abounded ; and though he warned them 
u againft it, yet he was not in earned ; and when they 
" had eaten, to the endangering of their lives, he coun- 
" teracted the poifon ; but was confcious, at the fame 
" time, that if there were any fault in the affair, it was 
" his own ; and if the children were to perifh, he would 
u be juftly accufed of their death." And can you, Sir, 
with thefe fentiments, continue to difavow your invalidat- 
ing the divine threatnings towards Jinners ; and concurring 
with him who taught our firft parents, " Ye mail not 
furely die ?" What better expofition could the deceiver 
of mankind have wifhed for, than what your words af- 
ford ! Te Jhall not furely die ; " viz. finally, or fimply, or 
with deftrudtion irrecoverable." For God doth know, that 
in the day ye eat thereof ~ f then your eyes fball be opened. " If 
"death occur, it is a part of his economy of grace, and 
" finally a miniflration unto life." That is, it lhall prove 
a beaefit. 

" God hath fworn that he willeth not the death of him 
" that dieth. That is, he willeth it not as death finally, 
" or fimpiy, or deftruction irrecoverable." Death fimp- 
ly and finally, then, means irrecoverable deftruction ; 
Does it ? But if it does fo m this paffage, it may in others; 
and then the threatnings of death, provided they were 
put in execution, may mean eternal damnation. Yea, 
if death' in this paffage mean irrecoverable deftruction, it 
will follow that feme are irrecoverably deftroyed : for the 
death in which God taketh no pleafure, whatever it be, 
the.fmner is fuppofed to fuffer — He hath no pleafure in 
the death of him that dieth. God taketh no pleafure in 
the death of him that dieth, in the fenfe as he doth not af- 
fiicl willingly, nor giieve the children of men. It does not 
mean that he doth not afflicl them ; for this is contrary to 
fact : but he doth not afflict for affliction fake, or for any 
pleafure that he takes in putting his creatures to pain. 
In all his dealings with (inners, he acts like a good .magis- 
trate who never punifh.es from caprice, but for a good 
end ; in many cafes for the correction of the party, and 
in all for the good of the community. 

To your fecond maxim I have no objection — " That 
9t whatever God does is intended by his goodnefs, con- 



l62 



Letters io Mr. V idler 



<{ ducted by his wifdom, and accomplished by his pow. 
c< en" But your application of it is inadmiffible. Some 
parts of it are trifling, others reft on unfounded affump- 
tions, and others are adapted to Overthrow all future 
punifhment. 

Firft : The greater part of it is mere trifling.— Who- 
ever fuppofed that eternal punifhment, or any punifh- 
ment, was a benefit to God ; or even a pleafure to him, or 
any holy beings, for its own fake ? Or who pretends that 
it is inflicted for the honour, pleafure, cr benefit of the fm- 
ner ? 

Secondly : Seme parts of it which object to enclefs pun- 
ifhment, becaufe it cannot be for the honour of God, or 
the benefit of creatures, proceeds altogether upon unfound- 
ed ajfumptions. — The only proof you have offered for the 
firft branch cf this pofition is naked affertion ; 11 That 
" every trdophifticated heart would fo determine," 
Suppofe I fay, every unfophifticated heart would deter- 
mine the contrary, my affertion would prove as much as 
your's ; and I may add, if our hearts be fophiiricated it 
muil be by malignity, or the wifli of having our fellow 
creatures miferable, which I imagine you will net gen- 
erally impute to us. But if your hearts be fophifticated, 
it is much more eafily accounted for. The decifion of 
finful creatures in fuch a cafe as this, is like that of a com- 
paay of criminals who fhould fit in judgment on the 
nature of the penalties to which they are expofed, whofe 
prejudices are much more likely to caufe them to err on 
tjie favourable than on the unfavourable fide.- — The fecond 
branch of this pofition is as unfupported as the firft. On- 
ly one reafon is alleged, and that is far from being an ac- 
knowledged truth ; viz. That no pofllble good can arife 
to fociety from the punifhment of fmners, but that of 
fafety. Common fenfe and univerfal experience teach us 
that this is not the only end of punifhment. Ifraei might 
have been fafe, if Pharaoh and his hoft had not been 
drowned ; yet they were drowned. Was fafety the only 
end anfwered to the world by the overthrow of Sodom 
and Gomorrha ; or were they not rather fet forth for an 
example ? Is it only for the fafety of fociety that a mur- 
derer is publickly executed ? That end would be equally 
ajuwered by perpetual imprifonnjent, or banilhment, -os? 



en Umverfal Solvation. 



a frimtc execution ; but there would be wanting an ex- 
ample to exprefs the difpleafure of a good government 
again ft crimes, and to imprefs the public mind with it. 

Thirdly : Molt of what you fay on this fubjecl, if admit- 
ted, would overturn all future punifhment. — Ycu might 
afk, Would it be honourable to God to have any of his 
creatures miferable for ages of ages, rather than happy ? 
Would it be a greater pleafure P Benefit he can have none ; 
for there is no profit in their blood. — As to the punch- 
ed, future punifument can be neither honour nor pleaf- 
ure to them ; and if their falvation could be accomplish- 
ed without it, it cannot be any benefit to them. If they 
may not be faved without it, it mult be either becaufe 
there was not efficacy enough in the blood of Chrift for 
the purpofe ; or elfe that "the full efficacy of the atone- 

ment was withheld by the divine determination." — As 
to fellow creatures, can the future punilhment of any of 
the human race be any honour to them ? Who ever 
thought it an honour to him, that any of his family were 
punifhed in any way ? Is it not a difhonour to human 
nature at large to be fent to hell I Can any creature have 
pleafure in the punifhment of another ? Would not every 
benevolent mind pofl'efs a greater pleafure in feeing fm- 
ners converted and faved, without going to hell, than 
to fee them condemned to weeping and wailing and 
gnaOiing of teeth, for ages of ages ? Benefit they can have 
none, except fitfety ; and that is better anfwered by their 
enmity being conquered in the prefent life. As then fu- 
ture torments can anfwer no poflible good end to any one 
in the uni verfc, I conclude them to be neither the work 
nor will of God ; and confequently, not the dcclrine of 
Scripture ! 

You " think there is a vnfl difference indeed in the 
" nature of future blelfednefsj and future punifhnient ; 
" fuch as fully to juflify us in giving a very different 
'* fenfe to the word eternal, when applied to thefe fmV 
"jeds." (p. 331-) It may be fo ; but your thoughts 
prove nothing. " .Sin and mifery (you fay) have no root 
" cr foundation in God and the reform mutt come to an 
end. Awhile ago they feemed to have their fole root in 
,him, fo much fo as to exclude the accountablenefs of 
Sftatures : but allowing they have not) this inference is 



2(54 



Letters to Mr, Vidler 



a mere creature of the imagination. Reduce your argu- 
ment to form, and fee what it will amount to : — 

Whatever has its root in the creature, muft come to an 
end : 

But fin and mifery have their root in the creature : 

Therefore fin and mifery muft come to an end. 

Now what proof, I aft:, have you for your major prop- 
ortion ? None at all. It is an argument, therefore, 
without any medium of proof, founded upon mere imag- 
ination. Another with equal plaufibility might imag- 
ine, that as fin and mifery had their origin in the pref- 
ent ftate, they will alfo terminate in the prefent ftate ; 
and confequently that there will be no future punifhment. 
And another might imagine, that as the acts of human 
beings are performed within a few years, the efFects of 
them upon fociety cannot extend much farther ; and con- 
fequently, it is abfurd to luppcfe that a whole nation ftill 
feels the confequence of what was tranfacted in a few 
hours at Jerufalem, nearly i8co years ago ; and a whole 
world of what was wrought, perhaps, in lefs time in the 
garden of Eden. In fhort, there are no bounds to the 
imagination, and Kill be no end to its abfurdities, if it go 
on in this direction. If inftead of taking our religion 
from the bible, we labour to form a fyftem from our 
own ideas of ntnefs and unfitnefs, and interpret the bible 
accordingly, there will be no end of our wanderings. 

Becaufe all judgment is committed to the Son, you 
conclude that future punifhment has its origin in mercy, 
and will end in eternal falvation. To this I anfwer, 
fir ft : If it be owing to the mediation of Chrift that pun- 
ifhment ihould be a work of mercy, this is allowing, that, 
if no mediator had been provided, it muft have been the 
reverie. But if fo, all your arguments againft eternal 
punifhment from the divine perfections, and all your 
attempts to maintain that the original meaning of the 
divine threatenings never included this idea, are given up. 
— Secondly : If whatsoever is done by Chrift in his medi- 
atorial capacity fhaii terminate, on his delivering up tl : 
kingdom to the Father, the rewards of the righteous, as 
well as the punifhments of the wicked, muft at that peri- 
od come to an end : for he will equally confer the one, 
as inflict the other. The " execution of judgment" com- 



Cfl Univerfal Salvation. 562 



mitted to the Son, denotes not merely the carrying into 
execution the fentence at the laft day, but the general 
adminiftration of God's moral government, both in this 
world and that which is to come. See Jer. xxiii. 5. 
xxxiii. 15. Matt. xii. 18 — 20. 

You talk of our " afcribing a proper eternity to fin 
u and mifery," as if we confidered fin and mifery to be 
neceffarily eternal. The exigence of intelligent creatures 
is no more eternal than their moral qualities or fenfa- 
tions ; and therefore it would be improper to afcribe eter- 
nity either to the one or the other : but if God perpetu- 
ates the exiftence of intelligent beings to an endlefs dura- 
tion, he may alfo perpetuate their moral qualities to the 
fame extent ; whether they originated with their exig- 
ence, or were acquired at any fubfequent period. Ho- 
linefs and happinefs, in refpect to creatures, are not nec- 
efTarily eternal, any more than fin and mifery ; and in 
this view it would be as improper to afcribe eternity to 
the purity and ble/Tednefs of the faved, as to the fin and 
mifery of the loft, feeing that the endlefs duration of both 
depends upon the will of God. You fpeak of the " life 
4i and bleffednefs of holy beings as having their root 
u and foundation in God ; and that, being thus ground- 
* f ed in him, they will be, like him, eternal in duration. " 
But this pofition is contrary to fact j for was not " God 
the fource and proper fpring both of the life and bleffed- 
nefs" of the unfmning angels ? Yet they kept not their 
firft eflate, but loft their bleflednefs, and are referved in 
chains of darknefs, unto the judgment of the great day. The 
life and blefTednefs of man in a ftate of innocence 
had their origin in God, as well as thofe of faints and 
angels ; yet they were not on this account like their au- 
thor, " eternal in duiation." To make fuch an alfer- 
tion, is, H to fay the leaft of it, an unguarded mode of 
(t expreftion but more than this, it is contrary to fact ; 
and tends to leflen the dependence of creatures upon God 
as the conftant author of all their happinefs. The argu- 
ment to prove that fin and mifery cannot be eternal, is 
the counterpart of the above pofition, and of courfe it is 
equally fallacious. 

" Sin and mifery being contrary to the holinefs and 
** benevolence of God, they muft (it feems) come to an 
A A 



%66 



Letters to Mr. Viiler 



u end." Such an affertion is foon made ; but where is 
the proof I A little more afTurance might lead another 
to fay, that fin and mifery, being contrary to the holinefs 
and benevolence of God, they cannot extfil in a future 
ilate : and were it not for the awful evidence of facts, an- 
other might affert, that fin and mifery do not now exift ; 
for in theory it would be as eafy to prove, that the pres- 
ent exiftence of fin and mifery is as contrary to the holi- 
nefs and benevolence of God, as their exiftence in future ; 
and that their exiftence in future for ages of ages, is as 
contrary to the holinefs and benevolence of God, as their 
exiftence to an endlefs duration. By fuch kind of rea- 
foning fome men have become atheifts, becaufe they canr 
not reconcile the prefent ftate of things with their ideal 
of a fuperintending power, po/Tefled of irffmite holinefs 
and benevolence ; and I cannot but tremble for the man 
who begins to travel in this unwary path^ by meafuring 
the divine adminiftration by his own unhallowed notions 
pf moral fitnefs. 

If your attempts to prove that all judgment is a work 
of mercy, and yet that there may be judgment without mer* 
ey t fhould prove Fruitlels, it is no more than may be ex- 
pected; for the thing itfelf is a contradiction. " The Scrip- 
u tures afford instances *of punifhment and pardon to the 
" fame perfons, and for the fame fins :"* but was this 
punifhment without mercy ? " Judgment and mercy were 
<f united in God's dealings with Jerufalem."f Granted ; 
but for this very reafon it coutd not be judgment without 
mercy. You might as well allege the union of wifdom 
and righteoufnefs in all the works of God, as a proof 
that there are fome works in w hich wifdom will be exer- 
cifed without righteoufnefs ! 

In another letter, Sir, I hope to conclude thefe re* 
marks. Meanwhile I am, 

Your's, &e. 

A, F 



m Um&fjal Salvuiiotu 



267 



L E T T E R VIIL 

A farther Examination of Mr. F.'s Scheme, 'With Replies t$ 
his AnimadvsrfioKS* 

Sir, 

I DO not know whether I fully uriderftand you*r remarks 
on proper eternity, (p. 364.) It is certainly one of thofe 
ideas in which die human mind is eafily loft, as it infinite- 
ly mrpafTcs our comprehenfion : but whether " the fcrip- 
** tures have revealed any thing part: or to come, befides 
" what is connected with fucceffive duration,'' and wheth- 
er we be " left to infer a proper eternity only from the na- 
" ture of Deity," are other queftions. You will allow 
that the Scriptures attribute a proper eternity to the Di- 
vine Being, and to his all-comprehending purpofes, which 
I fhould think is not leaving us to infer it from his na- 
ture. They fpeak alfo of a period when God Jhall be all 
in ally when the end cometh, and of the end of all things 
being at hand. They likewife promife an inheritance 
that fbali be 'without end. I fhould think, therefore, that 
this inheritance, of which the New Teftament fpeaks very 
fully, cannot be faid to be connected with fucceffive du* 
ration 5 not fo connected, however, as to be commenfu-* 
rate with it. 

By fucceffive duration being ended, I meant ho mord 
than what I apprehended you muft mean by the ceffa- 
tion of day and night, (No. i. p. 8.) and the ftate of things 
when Chi iit fhall have delivered up the kingdom to the 
Father. Strictly fpeaking, it may be true that the idea 
of fucceffive duration necefTarily attaches, and ever will 
attach, to the exiftence of creatures, and that none but 
God can be faid to erift without it : but there is a period, 
by your own acknowledgment, when the ftates of crea- 
tures will be forever fixed ; and if at this period, fmners 
be doomed to everlafting punifhment, the term everlaft- 
ing muft be underftood to mean endlefs duration. This 
period I conceive to be at the laft judgment ; you extend 
it to ages beyond it. Here, therefore, is our difference. 
I did not allege Rev. x. 6. in favour of there being a» 



263 



Letters to Mr. Vidkr 



end of time. I did not apprehend it needed proof. 
Your formal anfwer to it, therefore, is only removing an 
objection of your own creating ; and if defigned to prove 
that time will have no end, it is as contrary to ycur own 
avowed principles as to mine. 

You contend, that "the day of judgment is not the 
" finifhing period of Chrift's kingdom for which you 
offer a number of reafcns. To the greater part of them 
I have already replied. The reft I lhall briefly confider : 

" This earth (which is to be the hell of wicked men, 
** 2 Pet. iii. 7 — 13) is to be renewed, whereby hell itfelf 
" will be no more."* If this glofs will bear the teft, you 
have certainly for once hit upon a clear proof of your 
point ; for none can imagine the conflagration to be eter- 
nal. But, fir ft : The. Scriptures fpeak of a hell already ex- 
iting, wherein the angels who kept not their firft eftate 
are referved in everlajling chains^ under darknefs, unto the 
judgment of the great day ; and in which the departed 
fpirits of wicked men lift up their eyes, being in torment ; 
and intimate that this, whatfoever and wherever it be,, 
will be the hell of ungodly men : for they are doomed 
to depart into everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his- 
angels. But this cannot be upon earth, as its prefent 
condition does not admit of it. 

Secondly : If the earth, as being diflblved by fire, is to 
be the hell of ungodly men, their punilhment muft precede 
the day of judgment, inftead of following it ; for the 
conflagration is uniformly reprefented as prior to that 
event. It is defcribed, not as your fcheme fuppofes, as 
taking place a thoufand years after Chrift's fecond com- 
ing, but as attending it. The day of the Lord's comings is 
the fame" as the day of God, which Chriftians look for and 
haft en to ; wherein the heavens, being on fi 're, fl ball be difolv- 
ed — Our God fliall come a?id Jhall not keep Jilence ; a fire 
JJpall devour before mm, and it JhalHe very tempefluous round 
about him j and all this previous to his giving orders for 
his faints to be gathered unto him. And thus we are taught 
by the apoftle Paul, that the Lord Jefus JJmll be revealed 
from heaven in flaming FiR.E.f 

* U. M No. sxx vi. p. 365. 
f 2 Pet. iii. 7, iz, 13. Pfalm 1, 3 Thcff. i. 7, 8. 



6?t Univevfal Salvation, 



269 



Thirdly: T appeal to the judgment of the Impartial 
reader, whether, by the perdition of ungodly men, be not 
meant the deftrucYion of their Hues, and not of their fouls ? 
It is fpoken of in connexion with the deluge, and intima- 
ted that as the ungodly were then deflroyed from the face 
of the earth by water, in like manner they mould now 
be deftroyed by fire. 

You plead the promife, that "every knee mall bow to- 
" Chrilt," and conlider this as inconfiftent with a " ftub- 
" bom knes even in hell." But the queftion is, Whether 
trie bowing of the knee to Chrift be neceffarily expreffive 
of a voluntary and holy lubmiilion to him ? The fame in- 
fpired writer applies the language to that univerfal con- 
viction which lhall be produced at the laft judgment, 
when every n*>uth will be (topped, and all the world be- 
come guilty before God. We Jhctll all J?and (faith he) 
h-f'jre t'-e judgment fiat of ChriJ} : for it is written, As I 
live, faith fob Lord) every knee Jloall h-w to me, and every 
tong'ie /halt voh/efs to God* But you will not pretend 
that every kn.e will ;'/; that Jay bow to Chrift in a way 
of voluntary fubmillion. 

" All things (you allege) are to be reconciled to the 
u Father by the blood ot the crofs: but while any con- 
" Cinae in enmity again$ God, this can never be perform* 
"ed." (p. 3S4.) You refer, I fuppoie, to Col. i. 19, 20. 
Tut if the reconciliation of things in earth, and things in 
lieavan denote the Palvation of all the inhabitants of 
heaven and earth, it would follow: (1.) That the holy- 
angels are fsxv*d f as well as the unholy, though in fa<5t 
they never fmned. (2.) That when the apoitle adds, 
And you that were f me time alienated, and enemies in your 
minds hy wished nxxto-.ks, yet now hath he reconciled, he deals 
hi unmeaning tautology. Things in heaven, and things 
m earth, were at variance through fin. Men becoming 
the enemies of God, all his faithful fubjecls, and all the 
works of his hands, were at war with them ; yea, they 
were at variance with each other. But through the 
blood of Chrift, all things are reconciled ; and under his 
fceadfhipj all made to fubferve the prefent and everlalHng 
good of thofe who believe in hiis* Such appears to me. 



* RoiTlrXlv. IC— 12. 

A & 3 



2"jO 



Letters to Mr. Vidfer 



to be the meaning of the pa/Tage, and which Involves nei- 
ther of the foregoing abfurdities. 

" Chiili, (you add) is to rule till his enemies are fuh- 
" dued ; till there be no authority, power, or dominion, 
" but what (hall be fubfervient to him ; till death the laft 
il enemy fhall be deftroyed : and as the wages of fin is 
** death, the fecond death muft be here included." (p. 
365.) This language, which is taken from 1 Cor. xv. is 
manifeftly ufed in reference to the refurreclion of the 
bodies of thofe that fleep in Jefus, which is an event 
that precedes the laft judgment : for when this corrupti- 
ble ftoall have put on incorruption — then ftiall be brought to 
pafs the faying that is written, Death is fivallowed up in v'tCt 
iory ; which is the fame thing as the lafl enemy-being deftroyed* 
And then co?neth the end, the laft judgment, and the 
winding up of all things, when he Jhall have delivered up 
the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he Jhall have put 
down all rule, and authority, and power, (ver. 24, 25.) 
For you to interpret this language of things that are 
to follow the laft judgment, and to fay that it mujl include 
the fecond death, proves nothing but the dire neceflity 
to which your fyftem reduces ycu. 

" Finally ; The character of God is love — which is 
4< exprefsly againft the horrible idea of the endlefs mifery 

of any of his rational creatures." (p. 395.) So, Sir, 
you are pleafed to afTert. Another might from the fame 
premifes afTert, that the punifhment of any of his ration- 
al creatures in hell for ages of ages, where there fhall be 
weeping and wailing and gnafhing of teeth, and this not - 
withftanding the death of his Son, and the omnipotence 
of his grace, which farely was able to have faved them 
from it, is horrible and incredible ! Is it inconfiftent with 
the benevolence of a fupreme magiftrate that he dooms 
pertain characters to death ? Rather, is it not an exercife 
of his benevolence r Should a malefactor perfuade him- 
felf and his companions in guilt, that his majefty cannot 
poffibly confent to their execution, without ceafing to be 
that lovely and good character for which he has been 
famed, would not his reafoning be as falfe in itfelf as it 
was injurious to the king ? Nay ; would it not be inimical 
to his own intereft, and that of his fellow criminals ; as* 
by raifmg a dehulve hope, they are prevented from mak- 



m Univerfal Salvation. 27 1 

ing a proper and timely application to the throne for 
mercy ? 

Such are your reafons for fucceflive duration, and final 
falvation, after the laft judgment ; which, whether they 
ought to fatisfy any other perfon, let the reader judge. 
I fhall clofe with replies to a few of your animadverfions. 

Your mifreprefentation of what I had advanced con- 
cerning the Jews as a diftin£t nation, I mould hope needs 
no correction. If any of your readers can miftake what 
you have faid, for a juft ftatement of the views, or an 
anfwer to the argument of your opponent, they are be- 
yond the reach of reafoning. • 

You inferred from what was God's end in punifliing 
Ifrael in the prefe?it life, that (feeing he was an immutable 
being) it muft be the fame in his puniihing others in the 
life to come.* I anfwered, That I might as well infer 
from what appears to be his end in punifhing Pharaoh 
and Sodom in the frefint life, which was not their good, 
but the good of others, that fuch will be the end of fu- 
ture punithment.f You reply, by fnppojing that thefe 
characters were deftroyed for their good. (p. 367.) 
"What, in the prefent life ? No ; but in the life to come 1 
And do you call this reafoning ? 

You fay, M If any be finally incorrigible, it mud be in 
" confequence of the divine purpofe ; or elfe the purpofe 
" of God has been fruftratedi" I have in my laft letter 
replied to the fubflance of this dilemma. I may add, 
you need be under no apprehenfion that I mail be tempt- 
ed to give up the infruftrablenefs of the divine purpofe ; 
and if I admit that God in juft judgment has purpofed 
to give fome men up to Mumble, and fall, and perifh, it 
is no more than the Scriptures abundantly teach. You 
talk of " the last ftate of a creature according with the 
" divine purpofe but I know of no evidence for this, 
which does not equally apply to every ftate. If you be 
tempted to afk, Why doth he yet find fault ; for ivbo hatb. 
rejijled his will P You may pofiibly recollect that thefe 
qticitions have been afked before, and anAvered too ; and 
it may be of ufe to you to ftudy the anfwer. 

Akin to this is your dilemma, " That God cannot, or 
" will not, make an end of {fa ; that there is not efficacy 



* U. M. No. ii. p. 43, 44- 



f No. xxxiii.p. 363, 



272 



Letters to Mr. Vidkr 



" enough in the blood of Chrift to deftroy the works o 
" the devil ; or elfe that the full efficacy of the atonement 
" is withheld by the divine determination/' It has been 
already obferved, and I hope proved, that the Scripture 
phrafes, making an end of fin, &c> convey no fnch idea as 
you attach to them. (p. 264.) And as to your dilem 
ma, to which you afcribe great "weight," I anfwer again 
you need be under no apprehenfion of my limiting the 
power of God, or the efficacy of the Saviour's blood 
and if I fay that both the one and the other are applied 
under the limitations of his own infinite wifuom, I fry 
not only what the Scriptures abundantly teach, hut what 
you yourfelf muft admit. Can you pretend that your 
fcheme reprefents God as doing'all he can do, and as be 
flowing all the mercy which the efficacy of the f^ijouVs 
blood bath rendered confident ? If fo, you mure believe 
that God cannot convert more than he actually does in 
the prelent life, and that the. efficacy of the bleed of 
Chrtit is not equal to the fa v tag of more than a part cf 
mankind from the feeond death. 

You think that "the Scripture is not fdent concerrr- 
J1 tag the future emendation cf the ancient Sodomites 
nod refer me to Ezek. xvi. 44 — 63 ; arguing, that 
*- c Sodom and her daughters rauii be taken literally fbc 
" the city of Sodom, and the neighbouring cities of tire 
" plain- — rliat the prophecy mutt refer to the very perfons 
** who were deftroyed, feeing they left no defcendants — 
u and that there is the fame reafen to expect the rc^toi a- 
" tics- of Sodom, as the fulfilment of God's gracious 
" promifes towards Jerufakm." (p. 368.) But if your in- 
terpretation prove any thing, it will prove — I will not 
fay, too much,, but too little. It will prove, not that the 
ancient Sodomites will be faved from "the vengeance of 
M eternal fire/' and introduced into the heavenly world ; 
but barely that they are to return ta their former eft at t. 
(ver, 55.) And do you ferioufly think, that after the lajV 
judgment, the cities of Sodum and Gomorrha, of Samaria 
and Jerufalem, will be rebuilt, and repoflelTed by their 
ancient inhabitants ? If fo, it is time for me to lay down: 
my pen. 

The former part of the above paflage, (ver. 46 — 59.)' 
I apprehend to be no promife j but the language of keeiii 



on XJniverfal Salvation. 



273 



reproof : and inftead of intimating a return to either 
Sodom or Jerufalem, the latter is reaioned with on the 
footing of her own deferts, and told in effect not to expect 
it any more than the former. * The latter part (ver. 
60 — 63.) contains the language of free mercy ; not how- 
ever towards the fame individuals, againft whom the 
threatenings are directed, but to their diftant pofterityj 
who under the gofpel difpenfation mould be brought home 
to God ; and by a n@w and better covenant, have \ht gen- 
tiles given to them. The converfion of the heathen is ex- 
prefled by this kind of language more than once ; as by- 
bringing again the captivity of Moab y of Elam, and of the 
children of Amnion in the latter days. Jer. xlviii. 47. xlix. 
6> 39- 

You " have not difcernment enough, it feems, to per- 
u ceive the grofs abfurdity" of maintaining that there can 
be no diverfity in future punifliment, unlefs it be in du- 
ration ; that is, that the reflections of fmners on their 
part life mud all be exactly the lame. It may be fo ; 
but I cannot help it. Your anfwer amounts to this :. 
Diverfity of degrees in future punifliment may be ac- 
counted for by varying the duration of it ; " for every 
<{ one knows there needs not fo much time to inflict a 
" hundred ftripes, as to inflict ten times that number." 
Therefore that 7;iujt bt the way, and the only way ; and if 
you do not admit it, you " confound all degrees of pun- 
<* ifhment, in giving infinite punifliment to all." (p. 42, 
264, 369O 

You believe, you fay, that " thofe nvho die in their fins 
" cannot go nvhere Chrifl is." You muft mean to fay mere- 
ly, that they cannot fblloiu him now, but fhall Jblloiv him af- 
terwards. Such things, indeed, are faid of Chi ill's 
friends, but not uf his enemies. 

You have reprefented me as maintaining that all pun- 
ifliment claflies with the benevolence " both of God and 
<' his people." I have faid no fuch thing concerning 
God ; and if we were equally wife and righteous, and 
equally concerned to guard the interefts of the uni- 
verfe, as he is, we mould be in all refpects of the fame 
mind with him. The mifery which I fuppofe true be« 

* See a Umilar kind of phrafeology in Jer, xxxiii. 19 — z6. 



Letters to Mr. V'idhr. 



274 



nevolence to clam with, is mifery inflicled for its own 
fake ; and to this, whether it be temporary or endlefs, 
it is alike abhorrent. God has alfo made it cur duty, 
while fmners are not his confirmed enemies, to do all 
in our power to preferve their lives, and fave their fouls ; 
but He is not obliged to do all that he can to thefe ends, 
nor does he. Temporary punifhment, you contend, may 
confift with benevolence, " becaufe it is directed to a 
*' good and glorious end And do I contend for end- 
lefs punifhment on any other principle ? If you can form 
no idea of an end that is good and glorious, fave that 
which refpecls " the amendment of the fufferer," it does 
not follow that no fuch end exifts. A murderer, con- 
templating his approaching exit, might be fo much ab- 
forbed in the love of himfelf as to be of your opinion ; 
but the community would not. 

Whether I have entered into " the merits of the caufe," 
or conducted the controverfy in a becoming * fpirit," I 
confider as no part of my province to determine. The 
impartial reader will judge, whether I have dealt in 
ri foft words, or hard arguments ; ,J and if 1 have been fa 
h.ippy as in this particular to follow your counfel, wheth- 
er I have not been obliged to deviate from your example. 
On this account I mall be excufed from taking any no- 
tice of your animadverfions on thefe fubjecls, together 
with thofe of your new ally, the " Hoxton Student," un- 
lefs it be to thank you for affording additional proof of 
the juunefs of my remark, That Socinians rejoice in the 
jpread of Unwerjaltfm. 

Whether the kingdom of heaven be prepared for all 
men, or not, that you and I may fo agonize in the pref- 
fent life, as at laft to enter in, is the dellre and prayer cf 
your fmcere well-vrifher, 

A. F. 



FINIS. 



THREE 

OCCASIONAL SERMONS. 



l r — On the Common Salvation. 

II — The good Man's Desire for the Success of 
God's Cause. 

III. — The Object and Encouragement of Be- 
lievers in praying for Spiritual Mights 

To -which are added, 

TWO LETTERS, 

On the Sicknefs and Death of a Chriftian Friend. 



by ANDREW FULLER, d. d. 



BOSTON} 

PRINTED AND SOLD BY MANNING AND LORtNGf NO. 2, 
CORN HILL* 



Sermon I 



JUDE 3. 

Beloved, 'when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the 
common falvation, it was needful fir- me to write unto you> 
and exhort you, that ye Jhould earneflly coiitend for the faith 
which was once delivered unto the faints* 

TThE writer of this epiftle was him who in the gofpel 
is called Judas not Ifcariot. The epiftle itfelf is called 
general, not being addreffed to any particular perfon or 
people ; and may therefore be of more common concern. 
In the paifage I have read we may notice, Firft, The oc- 
capon there was for writing : it was needful. The apof- 
tle did not write for writing fake ; but to guard them 
againft certain men who had crept into the churches una- 
wares — turning the grace of God into lafcivioufnefs, and deny- 
ing the only Lord God, and our Lord Jefus Chrijl. (ver. 4.) 
— Secondly, The ear?7ejlnefs with which he engaged in it : 
He gave all diligence. The word* fignifies hafte, forward- 
nefs, diligent care ; fomewhat like that which a parent 
would feel in pulling a child out of the fire. (ver. 23.)— 
Thirdly, The fubjccl on which he wrote : the common fal- 
vation. This furniilies a realbn for his being fo much in 
earneft : the very vitals of chriftianity were ftruck at. 
Had not this been the cafe, it may be they would not 
have heard from him. When Haman had ccnfpired 
againft the Jews in Perfia, you recoiled the petition of 
Efther, and the manner in which it was addreffed to the 
king. After inviting him to her banquet, and poftponing 
the matter till (lie had whetted his defire to the utter- 
moft, Ihe at length uttered her requeft-.: If I have found 
favour in thy fight, king, and if it pleafe the king, let my 
life be given me at my petition, and my people at ?Jiy re, 

B B 



'The Com?non Salvation, 



quefi I For we are fold, I and my people, to be deflroyed, to he 
Jlain, and to perijb : but if we had been fold for bondmen and 
bondwomen, I had held my peace, although the enemy could not 
countervail the king's damage ! Something like this feems 
to be the fpirit of this palfage. It is as if the writer had 
faid, If the enemy had levelled his weapon againft any- 
thing but "the very heart of the gofpel, I might have held 
my peace. 

The amount is : The common doctrines of the 

<50SPEL ARE OF THE FIRST IMPORTANCE TO BE TAUGHT 
BY US AS MINISTERS, AND RETAINED BY US AS CHRIS- 
TIANS. 

In difcourfmg on the fubjecl, I fliall endeavour to af- 
certain wherein the common falvation confifts ; inquire 
why it is fo called ; and (hew the importance of its being 
made the grand theme of our miniftrations, and the firft 
object of our attachment. 

I. Let us endeavour to afcertain wherein the common 
falvation confifts. 

There can be no doubt, I think, that by this phrafe is 
meant the gofpel falvation. It is the fame thing as' the 
faith once delivered to the faints : the common faith, after 
which Titus is faid to have been begotten.* In a word, 
it is that which in the New Teftament is peculiarly de- 
nominated the gofpel. 

But the queftion returns : What is the gofpel ? Great 
diverficy of opinion prevails on this fubjecl-. One de- 
nomination of profefling chriftians tell you it is one 
thing, and another, another ; and how fliall we judge 
amidft fuch difcordant accounts ? If I were to tell you 
that fuch and fuch doclrines conftitute the gofpel, you 
might anfwer, This is only my opinion, which is fub- 
jecl; to error, equally with that of other people. For this 
reafon I fhall not attempt to fpecify particulars, but men- 
tion certain fcriptural mediums by which you yourfelves 
may judge of it. 

Firft : We may form a judgment wherein the gofpel 
confifts, by the brief defcriptions which are given of it. — 
The New Teftament abounds with thefe defcriptions : 
it delights in epitome. For example : God fo loved the 
world that he gave his only-begotten Son t that whofoeve-r be- 



* Titus i. 4. 



The Common Salvation. 



I 



lieveth in him fliould not perijh but have tvevlafling life. 
This is the common falvation : and furely I need not aik 
whether the doctrine which denies the periling condition 
of miners by nature, and fuppofes the unfpeakable gift of 
lieaven to be a mere fellow-creature, fent only to in timet 
us, and to fet us a good example, can comport with this 
reprefentation.— Again : The Jews require a Jign, or mir- 
acle, and the Greeks feek after w'fdom : hut we preach Chrijl 
crucified, unto the Jews a Jlumbllng-block, and to the Greihs 
foolijhnefs ; but unto them that are called, both Jews end 
Greeks, Chrijl the power of God, and the wifdom of God. 
This is the common falvation. We hear cf preachers 
knowing their auditors, and preaching accordingly : but; 
Paul went ftraight forward, regardlefs of the defires of 
meE. — Again; I determined not to know any thing among 
you but Jefus Chrijl and him crucified. In each of thefe 
paffages, the gofpel is fuppofed to be fummarily compre- 
hended in what relates to the perfon and work of Chrnt. 
This is the foundation which God hath laid in Zion : 
this is the common falvation. — Again ; I declare unto yoic 
the gofpel which I preached unto you, which alfo ye Irnve re- 
ceived, and wherein ye fund ; by which alfo ye are faved, if 
ye keep in memory, or hold faft, what I preached unto you, un- 
lefs ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you firft of 
all, that which I alfo received, how that Chrijl died for our 
fins according to the fcriptures : and that he was buried, and 
that he rofe again the third day, according to the fcriptures* 
Here alfo we fee what is the gofpel, and what that is on 
which the prcfent jlanding, and final falvation of chriftians 
depend : and I appeal to every thing that is candid and 
impartial in my hearers, whether fuch importance can 
be attached to the death, burial, and refurrection of Chrift 
upon any other principle than that of his dying in our 
ftead, and rifing again as our forerunner ? — Finally ; 
This is a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
Jefus Chrijl came into the world to fave finners, of whom I 
am chief* This language fuppofes, that in coming into 
the world, our Lord was voluntary, or that it was with 
defign, which fuppofes his pre-exiflence ; and that this de- 
fign was to fave finners, the chief of finners. In calling it 
a faithful or true faying, it is intimated that it was fo much 

* John iii. 16. x Cor. i. 32— 24. 1 Cor. ii. 4. 1 Cor. xv, 1—4. 
I Tim. i. 15. 



4 



The Common Salvation. 



the theme of the apoftle's miniftry, and io well known 
amongft chriftians, as to become proverbial. A faying 
grown into credit by experience of its truth, is the definition 
which has been given of a proverb ; and fuch was the 
true faying of Paul. This therefore muft be the gofpel 
—the common falvation. 

Secondly ; We may judge wherein the common falva- 
tion confifts, by the brief defcriptions which are given of 
the faith of primitive chriftians. This, as well as the gof- 
pel, is frequently epitomized in the New Teftament ; and 
it may be expected that the one will agree with the 
other. So we preach, and fo ye believed. The creed of 
the firft believers, it has often been remarked, was very 
fimple. I believe that Jefns Chrifi is the Son of God — Who- 
fiever believe th that Jefus is the Chrifi ', is born of God — Who 
is he that overcometh the world, but he that belicveth that Jefus 
is the Son of God P Believing is called receiving the witnefs, 
or record, of God — And this is the record that God hath given 
to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.* There are ma- 
ny other important truths, no doubt, the belief of which is 
necelfary to falvation ; fuch as, the being and perfections 
of God, the evil of fin, &c. ; but they are all involved 
in the doctrine of Chrifi and hi?n crucified. This all-im- 
portant principle is a golden link, which if laid hold of, 
draws with it the whole train of evangelical truth. Let 
a. man cordially embrace this, and you may trull him 
or the reft. 

There are, I conceive, four things which effentially be- 
long to the common falvation ; its necejfity, its vicarious 
medium, its free nefs to the chief of fmners, and its holy effica- 
cy. If we doubt whether we ftand in need of falvation, or 
overlook the atonement, or hope for an intereft in it any 
otherwife than as unworthy, or reft in a mere fpeculative 
opinion which has no effectual influence on our fpirit and 
conduct, we are at prefent unbelievers, and have every 
thing to learn. 

II. Inquire wherefore it is called the common falva- 
tion ? 

Three reafons may perhaps be affigned for this. 
Firjl : It is that in which all the facred writers, notwith- 
ftanding their diverfity of ages and gifts, are agreed in 1 

* Acts viii. 37. John v. 1, 5, 9, ii» 



The Common Salvation. 



5 



teaching. The Old Teftament writers underftood it much 
lefs than the New ; but they all died in the A faith of it. 
They teftified of the fufferings of Chrifi, and of the glory that 
flyould follow — To him give all the prophets ivitnefs. The 
New Teftament writers differed widely as to talents. 
Paul reafoned ; but Chrift and him crucified was his 
theme. John had more of the affectionate : he was bap- 
tized, as it were, in love ; but the Lamb that was flairt 
was the great object of it. There is no other name, faid 
Peter, given under heaven, cr among men, whereby we 
mutt be faved ; and John ftood by his fide and affented. 
If any of the New Teftament writers could be fuppofed 
to di&nt, it would be James, who wrote fully upon the 
neceffity of good works: but he was of trie fame faith 9 
and only pleaded for foenjcing it by his works. 

Secondly : It is that which is addrcjjhd to fmners in com- 
imn, without distinction of character or nation. The 
mefiages of grace under the Old Teftament were princi- 
pally addreffed to a fingle nation : but under the gofpel 
they are addre/Ted to all nations, to every creature. The 
pr-omifes of mercy are indeed made only to believers ; but 
its invitations are addrefied to finners. The gofpel feaft 
is fpread, and all are prelled to partake of it, whatever 
has been their previous character. 

Thirdly : It is that in which all believers, notwithstand- 
ing their different attainments and advantages, are m fa ?- 
fiance agreed. It is fitly compared to milk, which is the 
natural food of children. There may be great darknefs, 
imperfections, and error ; and many prejudices for and 
againft diftinctive names : but let the doctrine of the 
Crofs be ftated fimply, and it mull approve itfelf to a re- 
newed heart. A real chriftian cannot object to either of 
thofe fotir things which were confidered as belonging to 
the common falvation : — to the neceftity of it, the vica- 
rious medium of it, the freenefs of it, or the holy efficacy 
of it. 

III. Shew the importance of its being the grand theme 
of our miniftrations, and the firft: object of our attachment, 

It is that which God hath ever bleffed to the falvation 
of fmners, and the edification of believers — The piimkive 
chriftians lived upon it — Times of great revival in tb<; 
church have alwavs been diltinguilbed by a worm 
B b 2 



6 



The Common Salvation, 



adherence to ft. In the dark ages of popery, the fchool- 
men, as they are called, employed themfelves in deciding 
curious points ; but at the time of the reformation, the 
common falvation was the leading theme. Thofe minif- 
ters whofe labours have been more abundantly owned 
for the promotion of true religion, have been diftin- 
guimed by their attachment to the common truth ; and 
thofe churches which have abounded the moft in vital and 
practical godlinefs are fuch as have not defcended to cu- 
rious refearches, nor confined their approbation to ele- 
gant preaching, but have loved and lived upon the truth, 
from whomfoever it has proceeded. 

There are three things in particular from which we 
are in danger of neglecting the common falvation, both 
as preachers and as hearers : — 

Firft : A pretended regard to moral and praclical preach' 
ing, to the difregard of evangelical principle. All preach- 
ing, no doubt, ought to be practical ; and there are no- 
greater enemies to the Crofs of Chrift than men who can 
bear nothing but what foothes and comforts them : but 
this is not the only extreme. Almoft all the adverfaries 
of evangelical truth endeavour to cover their diflike to it 
tinder an apparent zeal for * morality, the chriftian tem- 
per, and chriftian practice.' If we neglect the common 
falvation in our ordinary labours, morality will freeze 
upon our lips, and neither the preacher nor the hearer 
be much inclined to practife it. To lofe a relifh for the 
common falvation is the firft ftep towards giving it up ;. 
and the effects of this we are warned againft from the 
example of the angels who kept not their firjl ejlate. 

Secondly : The love of novelty. — Both preachers and hear- 
ers are in danger of making light'of common truths, and 
of indulging in a fpirit of curious fpeculation. This will 
render preaching rather an entertainment, than a benefit 
to the foul. We are commanded to feed the church of 
God .... not their fancies, or imaginations, nor merely 
their understandings ; but their renewed minds. It in- 
dicates a vicious tafte, and affords a manifeft proof of de- 
generacy, where the common falvation is flighted, and 
matters of refinement eagerly purfued. The doctrine 
of Chrift crucified is full of the wifdom of God, and will 

furaifti materials f°f the ftrongeft powers j and here we 



The Common Salvation, 



1 



may dig deep in our refearches : but if thisfubjec"l has no 
charms for us, what are we to do in heaven, where it is 
their darling theme I 

Thirdly : A partial attachment to one or iivo particular 
truths^ to the neglect of the great body of truth. It has fre- 
quently been the cafe, that fome one particular topic has 
formed the character of an age or generation of men ; 
and this topic has been hackneyed in almoft every place, 
till the public mind has become weary of it ; while other 
things of equal importance have been overlooked. Beau- 
ty confifts in lovely proportion : and herein confifts the 
holy beauty of religion. When every part of truth has 
its due regard, and every part of holinefs its mare in our 
affections, then will the beauty of Jehovah our God be upon 
us, and then will he ejlablifj the nvork of our hands. 

Finally : The common falvation, though it. affords 
ground for a univerfal application for mercy, yet will be 
of no efTential benefit to us, unlefs it be fpecially embrac- 
ed. Notwithstanding the indefinitenefs of gofpel invita- 
tions, it is neverthelefs true, that, He nvho believeth and is 
baptized^ fJ?all be favedy and he that believeth 7iot fhall he- 
damned I 



Sermon II. 



Psalm xc. 16, 17. 

Let thy work appear unto thy fervants, and thy glory unt* 
their children. Jlnd let the beauty of the Lord our God be 
upon us ; and eftablifJj thou the work of our hands upon 
us : yea, the work of oar hands eftabliflo thou it. 

In every undertaking we have an end or ends to an- 
fwer, to which all our labours are directed. It is no lefs 
fo in religious undertakings than in others ; and as thefe 
are pure, and worthy of purfuit, fuch is the good or evil 
of our exertions. What are, or at leaft mould be, the 
great ends of a chriitian congregation in rearing a place 
for divine worfhip ? What are the main defires of feriouo 
people amongft you now it is reared ? If I mi (lake notj 
they are depicted in the pafTage I have read : — That God's 
work may appear among ft you in your own time — that it may 
be continued to pojlerity — that God would beautify you with 
falvation — and profper the work of your hands P 

The pfalm was written by Moles, probably on occafion 
of the fentence of mortality palTed upon the generation of 
Ifraelites which came out of Egypt, on account cf their 
unbelief, as recorded in the xixth chapter of Numbers. 
Jt was a heavy fentence, and very affecKngly lamented 
by the holy man ; but he difcovers a greater concern for 
the caufe of God, than for the lofs of temporal comfort. 
He prays that they may be taught to make fuch a ufe of 
this awful providence as to apply their hearts unto wifdom ; 
and that however God might afflict them during forty 
years wandering in the wildernefs, he would blefs them 
with fpiritual profperity. 

This prayer was anfwered. That generation which 
was trained in the wildernefs was, perhaps, the beft that 
Ifrael exhibited during their exiftence as a nation. It 
was of them that the Lcrd himfeif fpake, faying, / re- 



The Good Man's Dejlre, 



9 



member thee, the kindnefs of thy youth, the love of thine ef 
foufals, when thou wentefl after me in the wildernefs, in a- 
land that was not fown. Ifral then was holinefs to the Lord. 
May our prayer for the profperity of God's caufe amongft 
us be thus anfwered. 

All I fhall attempt will be, to review the objects defired^ 
and lhew the defirablenefs of them. 

The objects defired, though expre/Ted by the Jewifh 
lawgiver, have nothing in them peculiar to that difpen- 
fation ; but are equally fuited to our times, as to others. 
They prove that the caufe of God is one, through every 
difpenfation, and is directed to one great end — the eftab- 
lilhment of truth and righteoufnefs in the earth. 

The fir/} branch of this comprehenfive petition is, That 
God's work might appear unto his fervants. All God's 
works are great. Creation is full of his glory : provi- 
dence is no lets fo : and each is fought out by them that 
have pleafure therein. But it is evident that by the work 
of God, in this connexion, is meant the operation of his, 
grace. When the Almighty took Ifrael to be his people, 
he beftowed bleflings upon them of two kinds ; temporal 
and fpiritual. He gave them the promife of a good land, 
and of great profperity in cafe of their obedience to his 
will. But this was not all : he fet up his caufe amongft 
them. They were his vifible people, by whom true re- 
ligion was practifed, and its interefts promoted. It was 
the carrying on of this caufe that is here intended. It 
was begun from the time when God made promife to 
Abraham their grand progenitor, and was carried on dur- 
ing the lives of the patriarchs. When they were brought 
out of Egypt with a high hand, and formed into a people 
for himfelf, it became more apparent, and wore a more 
promifmg afpect ; but when they were doomed to die in 
the wildernefs, it feemed as if it rauft fink. Hence Mofes,. 
who was tenderly affected with what concerned the hon- 
our of God, pleads as he does. Thus he pleaded his 
great name on a former occafion : and thus the prophet 
Habakkuk pleaded when Judah was going into captivity,, 
and the caufe of God was likely to be ruined : Lord,, 
revive thy work in the rnidjl of the years ; in the midjl of th? 
years make known : in wrath remember mercy I 



10 



The Good Man's Defire for 



The work of God may be faid to appear amongft us 
when fmners are converted to himfelf. Converfion is 
not confined to Jews and heathens ; but extends to fin- 
ners of all ages and nations. It is not enough that we 
are born and educated under the light of revelation, nor 
that we yield a traditional alTent to it. Nicodemus could 
boaft of all this, and more : yet he was tcld by the faith- 
ful and true witnefs, that except a man be born again, he 
cannot fee the kingdom of heaven. Converfion work is pe- 
culiarly the work of God. Minifters and parents may be 
the inftruments ; but God is the proper caufe of it. None 
but he who made the heart of man can turn it from its 
rooted averfion to- the love of himfelf. Minifters and 
parents know this by painful experience ; and therefore 
can each adopt the prayer here prefented as their own. 
Wherever this work is, it will appear by its holy and hap- 
py effects. The drunkard will become fober, the churl 
liberal, the unclean chafte, and the malignant perfecutor 
of Chrift's people a humble fufferer for his name's fake. 

The work of God will alfo appear amongft us if chrif- 
tians grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord 
and Saviour Jefus Chrift. The power of divine grace is 
no lefs apparent in the carrying on of God's work, than 
in the beginning of it. Nothing fhort of an almighty 
arm can preferve creatures, fo prone to fall away, from 
falling, and prefent thofe who are fo faulty, fault lefs before 
the prefence of his glory. And where this part of the work 
is, it will appear alfo by its holy and happy effects. Such 
chriftians bear the moft impreflive teftimony to the world 
of the reality and importance of religion. 

A fecond branch of the petition is, That God's work 
might fo appear as that there might be an illuftrious 
difplay of his glory. All God's works difplay his glory ; 
but the work of grace in the falvation of fmners moft 
of all. Other things manifeft his wifdom and power 5 
but this his holy nature. The carrying on of his caufe 
in the world, by the converfion and fanctification of 
Unners, gives a kind of vifibility to the divine char- 
acter. It is feen, and even felt by the moft abandoned 
of men. God is faid to have appeared in his glory in 
building up Zion, after it had been broken down by the 
Chaldeans. Even the heathen, when they faw what he 



the Succefs of God's Caufe. 



II 



had wrought, could not forbear to acknowledge, The 
Lord hath done great things for them ! But the building 
up of the gofpel church, by turning the captivity of 
thofe who were the flaves of Satan, is ftill more glo- 
rious. The Lord could accomplim the former merely 
by his providence ; but the latter is the effect of the 
travail of his foul. 

It is requefted, thirdly, That God would impart to 
them his beauty : Let the beauty of the Lord our God be 
upon us ! All God's works are beautiful ; but faints 
who are his workmanfhip, are the fubjects of a holy beau- 
ty, or of the beauty of holinefs. They are comely through 
the comelinefs which he puts upon them. Conceive of the 
camp of Ifrael after they had been humbled, and taught 
to fear the Lord their God. Two or three hundred 
thoufand godly young people, following him implicitly 
in the wildernefs, and trembling at the idea of repeating 
the iniquities of their fathers ! This was a fight at 
which even a wicked prophet was ftruck with awe, and 
could not forbear exclaiming, Hoiv goodly are thy tents, 
Jacob, and thy tabernacles, Ifrael ! Powerful are the 
charms of genuine piety. There is fomething in it that 
difarms malignity itfelf, and extorts admiration even 
from thofe who hate it. Milton reprefents the devil 
himfelf, on his approaching paradife, as awed by inno- 
cence, as daggered, as half inclined to defift from his 
purpofe, and feeling a kind of perturbation within him 
compofed of maiignity and pity. Something like this, 
exifted, methinks, in Balaam. He wanders from hill 
to mountain, feeking for curfes, but fcattering blef- 
fmgs ; fometimes half inclined to unite with God, and 
concluding with a vain defire to die the death of the 
righteous. Powerful, I repeat it, are the charms of gen- 
uine piety. Conceive of a fociety of chriftians drinking 
into the fpirit of Chrift, and walking according to his 
commandments. What an amiable fight ! Beautiful as 
Tirzah, comely as Jerufalem, and terrible as an army nvith 
banners ! So much as we pofTefs of the fpirit of true relig- 
ion, fo near as we approach its original fimplicity, fo far as 
our doctrine is incorrupt, our difcipline pure and impar- 
tial, and our converfation as becometh the gofpel, fo much 
of the beauty of the Lord our God is upon us. 



11 



The Good Man's Defire for 



A fourth branch of the petition is, That God would fet 
Iris feal to their undertakings, and eftablim the work of 
their hands : EftabliJJo thou the work of our hands upon us ; 
yea, the work of our ha?ids ejlallifo thou it. — It was the work 
of Mofes and Jofhua, and the reft of God's fervants, to 
mould and form the people, efpecially the rifing genera- 
tion ; to. mftruct them in the words of the Lord, and 
imprefs their hearts with the vaft importance of obeying 
them. And this has been the woik of God's fervants in 
every age. r l his is our object in our ftated and occafional 
labours, in village-preaching, and in foreign millions ; 
this" is the object in the prefent- undei taking : but all is 
nothing unlefs God eftablim the work of our hands. Ex- 
cept the Lord build the houfe, the builders labour in vain. 
As we muft never confide in God to the neglect of 
means ; fo we muft never engage in the ufe of means 
without a fenfe of our dependence on God. 

Finally : It is requeued that thefe bleffings might ap- 
pear both in their own times, and be continued to their 
pofterity : Let thy work appear unto thy fervants, who are now 
alive, and thy glory unto their children, when they are no 
more. It is defirable that true religion mould be pro- 
moted in our time. This indeed mould be our flrft and 
chief concern. Worldly men may care nothing about 
this. If they gain but the corn, the wine, and the oil, 
it is enough for them, but God's fervants cannot be hap- 
py with mere temporal profperity, if the intereft of Chrift 
do not profper. Nehemiah might have lived in affluence 
at the court of Perfia ; but he could not enjoy it while 
the city of his God was going to ruim. The true 
labourers in God's hufoandry long to fee it abound in 
fruits : the builders of his temple delire to fee it rife. 
And though our own limes lie neareft us, yet our prayers 
and efforts muft not be confined to them, but extend to 
pofterity. The fucceeding generation ihould lie near our 
hearts. In them we hope for materials for God's build- 
ing. The prayer of David would fit the lips of every 
godly man, and efpecially of every godly parent : That 
our fons may be as olive-plants grown up in their youth ; and 
our daughters as corner-jlones, polifhcd after the ftmilitudc of 
a palace I 



the Succefs of God's Cauje. 



*3 



I ihall add a few words on thedefirablenefs of the objects. 

We have feen already that the manifeftation of the 
glory of God depends on the progrefs of his work : by 
how much, therefore, we are concerned for the one, by 
fo much (ball we be importunate for the other. It is for 
the glory of God, that Satan's kingdom fhould be over- 
turned, and the kingdom cf his Son eftablifhed on its 
ruins. This work is the harvefi of all God's other works 
of glory. It was glorious in him to promife to give his 
Son the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermoft 
parts of the earth for his poffelTion : but the glory of this 
alfo depends upon its being performed. It was glorious 
for Chrixi to die, that he might purify unto himfelf a pe- 
culiar people, zealous of good works : but it is by the actu- 
al accomplilhment of this object that his glory is perfect- 
ed. It was glorious for God in his providence to drive 
out paganifm and popery from this kingdom : but if it 
ftop here, what are we the better ? The cutting down 
of weeds will be of but little ufe, if the pu^e feed be not 
fown, and fpring up, and bring forth fruit in their place. 

The progrefs of God's work in heathen countries has a. 
•clcfe connexion alfo with our fpiritualprofperity at home. 
There is much beauty and propriety in the petitions of- 
fered up in the lxviith Pialm. God he merciful unto »s 
— that thy way may bs known upon earth, thy faving health 
among all nations ! God bleffeth the world by blefTmg the 
church, and making it a bleiTing. A ftatefman would 
wifh for an increafe in population, that the army, and 
navy, and every other department of fociety might be 
tilled : and iliall not we pray for the profperity of the 
church of God ; that faithful minifters, mifiionaries and 
every other defcription of chriftians, may not be wanting ? 

Finally : The regard we bear to the fouls cf men, 
efpecially to the rifing generation, muft render thefe blef- 
fings definable. It is not your's, but you that we feek. 
Our hearts' delire, and prayer to God for you, is, that 
you may be laved. If we recommend you to attend the 
gofpel and embrace it, Is it becaufe we want to enlilt you 
under the banner of a party? God knoiveth ! Yet we 
fnall fay to yen, and efpecially to the rifmg generation, Go 
: '"ith us, and we will do you good ; for the Lord, we truft, hath 
fpoken good concerning us : a?id itfhall come to pafs that wharf - 
fvergood thing the Lord /hall do unto us,thatwil/we do unto you, 
Cc , 



Sermon III 



Ephesians iii. 14 — 16. 

For this caufi I bow ?ny knees unto the Father of our Lord 

jfefus Chrijl that he would grant you according 

t-j the riches of his glory , to be flrengthened with mighty by 
his Spirit , in the inner man* 

' J. HE writing and preaching of the apoflles had two 

diftincc. fpecific objects in view. They preached, to make 
men chriftians ; to turn them from darknefs to light, 
and from the power of Satan to the living God : They 
wrote, to make them eminent chriftians ; to quicken be- 
lievers in their heavenly race, to promote in them a 
growth in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
oaviour, Jefus Chrift. Such was the zeal of Paul in en- 
deavouring to accomplim the former, that he counted 
not his life dear to him, but was willing to die for the 
name of the Lord Jefus : nor was he lefs defirous of the 
latter ; making it the leading object of all his epiftles, and 
the matter of his prayer day and night. In the apoftle's 
words there are three things which require our notice : 
The object defired — its importance — and the encourage- 
ment we have to feek it. 

I. The objeel in which the apoftle wasfo much intereft- 
ed on behalf of the Ephefians : That he would grant you to 
he flrengthened with might, by his Spirit, in the inner man. 

Nothing good is found in fallen man ; nothing grows 
fpontaneoufly in that foil but what is evil : if any thing 
holy be found there, it muft be produced by the Spirit of 
God, who worketh in us both to will and to do of his 
good pleafure. Nor is divine influence lefs necefTary in 
carrying on the good work after it is begun : fuch is our 
pronenefs to relax, to grow weary, to faint in our courfe, 
that we need to be continually ftrengthened with might, 
by his Spirit, in the inner man. 



The Objett and Encouragement > oV. 



IS 



The object prayed for is not bodily ftrength ; that is of 
but little account in the fight of God, though in many- 
cafes it becomes the matter of human boafting. Samp- 
fon was polfeifed of might in the outward man to a high 
degree, and a poor ufe he made of it. Perhaps a more 
feeble character is not to be met with among thoi'e whom 
the fcriptures mention as good men : with all his wonder- 
ful exploits, he weakly yielded to the tempter, and became 
an eafy prey to his enemies. Nor is it mere mental abili- 
ty that is here intended ; that was the ftrsngth of Solo- 
mon. Paul did not pray that we might be made great 
men, but good men ; not that we might be poets or phi- 
lofophers, but chriftians ; net that we might excel in ge- 
nius or learning, but in grace and goodnefs ; that our 
fouls may profper and be in health — that we may be 
itrengthened with might in the inner man. This part 
of the fubjecl: will be better underftood by coniklering 
fome of the fymptoms of fpiritual might. 

1. The manner in which we perform religious duties 
may ferve as a criterion by which to judge of our ftrength 
or weaknefs. — If we be chriitians, we fnail woriVip God 
in our families and in fecret ; fhall fearch the fcriptures, 
frequent the houfe of God, and aim to difcharge the va- 
rious duties which appertain to our ftations in life. Thefe 
things we mall feel it incumbent on us habitually to 
regard : but the queftion is, How, and in what manner do 
we perform thefe exercifes ? If our fouls be in a languish- 
ing ftate, they will become a taik, and not a pleaiure to 
us ; we fhall be weary of the Lord's fervice, feel his yoke 
to be grievous, and while we keep up a round of duty, our 
devotions will be cold, feeble and unprofitable. But if 
we be ftrong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, 
we mall count of the return of facred opportunities, and 
find that wifdom's ways are ways of pleafantnefs, and 
that all her paths are peace. When David longed for 
water of the well of Bethlehem, three mighty men 
brake through the hoft of the Philiftines to obtain it, 
hazarding their lives for his fake ; while men of weaker 
attachment would have murmured at the feverity of 
fuch an enterprife. If we poffefs a warm heart for 
Chrift, we fhall not think much of the time, the talents, 
the property, the influence which we may devote to his 



1 6 The Ohjecl and Encouragement cf Believers 



fervice-; nor count our lives dear to us, if we may but 
promote his kingdom and glory in the world. This is 
the love of God, that we keep his commandments ; and 
his commandments are not grievous. Nor will this pleaf- 
ure be confined to the public exercifes of religion, but will 
extend to thofe of a more perfonal and private nature. It 
is poflible we may feel much animation, and poflefs much 
enjoyment in the outward means, while we are cold and 
Jifelefs in the duties of retirement ; and this will be the 
cafe where the religion of the heart is not cultivated, nor 
ciofe walking with God carefully maintained. But if we 
be ftrengthened with might, by his Spirit, in the inner 
man, communion with God will be earneftiy fought after, 
private duties vigoroufly attended to, and the clcfet 
will yield us pleaiure, as well as the tabernacles of the 
Lord of hofcs. There are but few of whom it may be 
iaid, as of Caleb and Jofhua, that they follow the Lord 
fully. Multitudes of profefibrs appear to be but half- 

- : cd in religion ; they neither wholly relinquiih it, nor 
i'.ake it up in e\rneft ; but are dehrcus of following the 
Lord fo far as is confiftent with their carnal eafe, their 
worldly intereft, or their (infill pafilons, and no further. 
But if the object of the apoftle's prayer be accomplished 
in us, we fhall be decided for God, and prompt in cur- 
manner of ferving him ; not confulting with rlefti and 
blood, not attempting to accommodate our principles 
and practice to thofe of the generality, nor wifhing to do 
as little as poflible for God, ccnfiftently with our own fafe- 
ty ; but' delighting to do ail kj# will, we ihall run in the 
way of his commandments. 

2. The degree of our fpiritual flrength may be deter- 
mined by the manner in which we refift temptation, — All 
men are tempted ; but all do not refift temptation : this 
is peculiar to the chriftian character. Mere worldly 
men go with the ftream ; they walk according to the 
courfe of this world, and are hurried along with the 
impetuous torrent. But if we be chriftians, we are 
not of the world, and are in the habit of rending 
its temptations. Yet if our refiftance be feeble and 
indeterminate ; if we heHtate where we ought to be 
decided ; if we look back on Sodom, like Lot's wife, 
with a lingering defire after thofe fmful pleafures which 



in praying for Spiritual Might. 1 7 



we profefs to have given up, and regret the lofs of fenfual 
gratifications, — are we not carnal, and walk as men ? He 
who is ilrengthened with might in the inner man will 
not paufe when temptation meets him, nor parley with the 
tempter ; but will readily anfwer, "Thus it is written/' 
It will he fufficient for him to know thai God has for- 
bidden this or that. Like a dutiful child, the will of his 
father is the guide of his conduct, and that alone will fur- 
nilh fufficient motives for obedience : Thus it is written. 

3. The fpirit in which we endure affliction will tend to 
difcover the degree of religion we poiTefs. — Affliction is 
the lot of man, as well as temptation ; and we mull all 
get through our difficulties in fome way or other : but 
the manner in which we get through them will fnew 
whether we be ftrengthened with might in the inner man, 
or not. If we faint in the day of adverfiiy, our ftrength 
m is fmall : if we be fretful, and murmur at the hand of 
God ; if we fink under the burden, and wifh in ourfelves 
to die ; we either have no religion at all, or poiTefs it but 
in a fmall degree. Great grace would en able us to bear 
affliction with fubmitlum, and even to rejoice in tribula- 
tion. Primitive chriftians were deflitute, afflicted^ tor- 
mented ; and yet how happy were they with their lot ! 
They took joyfully ths fpoiling of their goods, rejoiced 
that they were counted worthy to fufrer for Chiift's lake, 
and counted it all joy when they fell into divers tempta- 
tions. Out of weakness they were made itrong, and wax- 
ed valiant in fight : thus they were more than conquer- 
ors through him that loved them. 

4. The fenfe we entertain of our enun weabisfs is alfo a 
criterion of our being flrengthened in the inner man. — 
An apoflle could fay, " When I am weak, then am I 
ftrong." To a worldly mind this may appear highly par- 
adoxical, but a babe in Chrift may underftand it. When 
we have the greateft fenfe of our own infuhiciency for 
what is g^od, and feel that we are nothing, and without 
Chriit can do nothicg, then- are we ftrong in the Lord 
and in the power of his might. But if we feel felf fuffi- 
cient, confident, and difpofed to lean to our own under- 
ftanding, then are we weak indeed, and become an eafy 
prey to the enemj\ Peter was never fo weak as when 
he thought there was no danger of falling, and boldly 
C c 2 



The Objecl and Encouragement of Believers 



faid, " Though all men fhould forfake thee, yet will nor 
I" Paul was never fo ftrong as when he felt himfelf to 
be « nothing." When moft fenfible of our own infufH- 
ciency, we lUall pray moft for ftrength from heaven, and 
watch moft againft temptation ; and by thefe means we 
fhall be ftrengthened with ftrength in our fouls. 

II. We are led to notice the dejlrablenefs of the blemng 
prayed for. — Paul would not have been fo importunate 
in his requeft, if it had not been of the greateft impor- 
tance that we mould not only be chriitians indeed, but 
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and 
Saviour Jems Chrift; But there are other reafons which 
might be offered. 

1. The Scriptures lay much ftrefs on this, as tending 
to glorify God. — " Herein is my Father glorified, (faith 
Chrift) that ye bear much fruit : fo mail ye be my difci- 
ples." Every field will bear fome fruit, in the ordinary 
courfe of things ; but it is to the more abundant hon- 
our of the hufoandman when his field brings forth thirty, 
nxty, or a hundred fold. So it is not merely by our be- 
ing chriitians, that God is glorified ; but by our being 
eminent chriftians. Nor is this all : if we be defirous 
only of fo much grace as may carry us fafely to heaven, 
it is doubtful whether we mail ever arrive there at laft, 
Abounding in the fruits of righteoufnefs is confidered 
by our Lord as elkntial to the very exiftence of true re- 
ligion ; for, faith he, "fo fhall ye be my difciples." Chrift 
himfelf brought forth much fruit?, and it i.s neceffary that 
we refemble him. 

2. Our ifefulnefs depends much on our being ftrong in 
the Lord, and in the power of his might. — If our fouls 
be in a languifhing ftate, what good can we do in the 
world ? Ye are the fait of the earth ; but if the fait have 
loft its favour, wherewith fhall it be faked ? It is thence- 
forth good for nothing. What good can we do in focie- 
ty, amongft our immediate connexions or in our families, 
but as we diirufe a favour of Chrift ? And how can this 
be done, if we ourfelves have loft that favour, and are 
become lifelefs and unfruitful in the ways of God ! At 
the clofe of every day it becomes us to inquire, Has any- 
one been improved by our converfation ? Will any one 
think the better of Chrift,. from what they have heard 



in praying for Spiritual Might. r</ 

or feen in us ? Or h^ve-we been amongft men merel y- a . 
men of the world ; and might they not fay of us, What 
do ye more than others ? He who pofleiTes much relig- 
ion, will jmpart more or lefs of it to thofe about him : he 
will not make a ihow of it ; yet it muft be feen. There 
is that in the outward mien* the inward temper,. and dai- 
ly converfation of a man of genuine religion, which indi- 
cate that he has been with Jefus. The modefty of his* 
countenance, the meeknefs and cheerfulnefs of his difpo- 
frtion, the fweet familial ity and ferioufhefs of his inter- 
courfe with men, enliven the circle in which he moves, 
and recommend the religion which he profeffes. 

t III. The encouragement we have to pray that we may 
be ftrengthened with might, by his Spirit in the inner 
man, is intimated by the phrafe, " That he would grant 
you according to the riches of his glory , £sV." — When 
men are both rich and generous, and willing to give to 
the neceffitous according to their ability, it affords a very 
powerful motive to folicit their afliitance. But who can • 
eftimate the riches of God's goodnefs, and the. boundlefs 
extent of his grace ! And if he gives according to the 
riches of his glory, what encouragement is here for pray- 
er ! Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it, faith the - 
Lord. Afk, and ye fhall receive, that your joy may be 
full. Let us afk much, and we fhall have much : The 
Lord takethpleafure in them that fear him, and in them 
that hope in his mercy. He who had but one talent, 
and went and hid it in the earth, loft it ; but he who • 
had five talents, and went and traded with the fame,, 
gained five other talents. Men who live to God, and 
whofe whole concern is to promote his glory, fhall find 
their fphere of ufefulnefs enlarging with their activity^ . 
and that God is girding them with ftrength proportioned 
to their labours. Like their divine Matter, their reward 
is with them, an 5 their work before them. To him that 
hath, fh all be given, and he fhall have more abundantly ; 
but from him that hath not, fhall be taken away, even 
■tfcat which he hath. 



Letter I. 



To Mrs. MEAD. _ 

Kettering, Jan, lo, i8o*» 

My dear Friend, 

Y*OUR heavy afRi<5Hon, and it feems, approaching • dif- 
folution, have not been forgotten by me ; though, through 
a multiplicity of concerns, I have not been able till now 
to write. I know it is a ferious thing to die ; but I 
know alfo, that faith in the Son of God will remove 
mountains. 

It was one of the confolations of our Lord to his for- 
rowful difciples, when about to be taken from them i 
I go to prepare a J>lace for you ; and if I go and prepare a place 
for you, I will come again, and receive you to myfelf ; that 
where I am, there ye may he alfo ; and whither I go ye know, 
and the way ye know. What can I oifer to my dear dy- 
ing friend more fuitable than a few remarks upon this 
intereiting pailage ? 

If our Saviour had been going to fome unknown place, 
and we muft not follow him, we might well be unhap- 
py : hut whither I go ye know. It is true, we know noth- 
ing of an hereafter beyond what God in his word 
hath told us ; but thofe lively oracles are a light in a 
dark place, whofe cheering beams pierce the otherwife 
impervious gloom of futurity. When a dying heathen 
was afked whither he was going ? " O my friends ! (faid 
he) we know nothing of an hereafter/' Such muft have 
been our anfwer, but for the glorious gofpel of the bleff- 
ed God." As it is, we know whither our Redeemer k 
gone : he is gone to his Father, and to our Father ; to his 
God, and to our God, He is gone to the Mount Sion ; to 
the city of the living God ; to the innumerable comjv.ny 
of angels ; to the fpirits of juft men made perfect ; to^od 
the judge of all. Whither he is ^one, we know ; for w# 
have had a fcretade of the blifs. As believers, we are 
already come to Mount Sion. The church below and 
the church above are only different branches of the fame 
family ; fo that he who is come to one, is come to the 
other. 



Letter to Mrs. Mead. 



2 I 



But how are we to follow him, unlefs we know the 
way? If he come and receive us, he will be our guide. 
And this is not all ; The way we know. Thomas thought 
he knew not whither his Lord was going, nor the way that 
led to him : yet he knew his Lord, and believed in him 
as the Son of God, and the Saviour of fmners. Jefus 
therefore anfwered,. / am the may, the truth, and the life : 
knowing me, you know the way to the heavenly life. 
Yes; my dear Friend, we not only know whither our Sa- 
viour is gone, but the way that leads to him. The doc- 
trine of the Crofs, as dear Pkarce ohferved,. " is the on'iy 
religiqn for a dying finner." 

If an affectionate father had refolved to remove to a 
diftant country, he might not take his wife and children, 
with him the firft time ; but might choofe to go by him- 
felf, that he might encounter and remove the chief dif- 
ficulties in the way, and m.ik* ready a habitation to re- 
ceive them. Such was the conduit of our Saviour. / 
go to prepare a place for you ; and if I go and prepare a placs 
for you, I will co?ne again, and receive you unto myfelf; that 
wl)ere I am, there ye may he alfi. Kis pillage throug'i 
the territories of death, was attended with the moft dread- 
ful of all conflicts ; but having overcome, it renders ours 
an eafy one. Death to us is — jefus coming to receive us 
ti himfelf. 

The prefence of a beloved object is the grand prepar- 
ative of any place ; and that which gives it its principal 
charm. Such is his preparation oi a place for us. Jefus 
is there ; and that is enough. If any thing will operate 
as a magnet to attract us from earth to heaven, it is the 
eonfideration of being where Jefus fitteth at the right hand 
of God. 

If before this readies you, you have not received your 
difcharge, accept my affectionate farewell. We ihall 
foon meet again ; and meet to part no more* May you 
enjoy a fafe and comfortable paifage, and have an en- 
trance minillered unto you abundantly into the everlaft- 
ing kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift ! 

My fympathizing remembrance alfo to Mr. Mead, and 
to your brother and filters. The Lord Jefus Chrift be 
with your fpirif !; 

Affectionately your's, 

A, R 



Letter II. 



To Mr. T. R. 

Kettering^ Feb. 24, 1801. 

My dear Friend, 

I DROP you a few lines by Mr. T. to exprefs the fym- 
pathecic feelings of my mind with a family whom I im- 
cerely refpecl. Doubtlefs you have fuftained a lofs in the 
removal of dear Mrs. Mead ; yet there are circumftances, 
which if duly eonfidered, muit greatly alleviate it. She 
might have left a family of helplefs children. Her life 
might have been fuch as to have difgraced her connex- 
ions ; and their only relief might have been in endeav- 
ouring to forget her. Or, if The had fuilained a fair char- 
acter among men ; yet if that had been all, you would 
have forrowed as thofe who have no hope. 

As I faid to her in the profpect of death, fo now I fay 
to you : V/ hither Jhe is gone ye knomj ; and the ivay ye know* 
It is not to an unknown ftate, nor where you cannot fol- 
low her. You have only to be followers of them who 
through faith and patience inherit the promifes. 

Jefus went to prepare a place for his followers. We un- 
der ft aud how he prepares us for heaven : But how does 
his prefence prepare heaven for vs P Three ways occur to 
me : — 

Firft, As conftituting the ejfence of its blefednefs. — Think 
what an acceffion of joy his triumphant entrance mull 
have occaiioned through all the heavenly regions, and 
what a fource of continued enjoyment his prefence af- 
fords? What would fome focieties be without certain 
interefting characters, which are in a fort the life of them ? 
And what would heaven be without Chrilt ? The zed of 
the heavenly blifs confifts in. its being the place where 
Chrift Jittetb at the right hand of God. This is urged, and 
well it might be, as the grand motive to fet our affeclions 
o?i things above. 

Secondly, As gathering together the whole family of heaven 
and earth.— This redemption brings many multitudes to 



Letter on the Death of Mrs. Mead. 



23 



glory, out cf every kindred, and tongue, and people, and 
nation ; and every one that enters adds to the enjoy- 
ment. In order to connect us together in the clofefl 
bonds cf affection, God has fo ordered it, that both in 
this world and that which is to come, our bleifednefs 
fhould be bound up with that of each other ; in feeing 
the good of his chofen, rejoicing in the gladnefs of his 
nation, and glorying with his inheritance. Hence it fol- 
lows, that every acceffion to the heavenly world affords 
an influx to the enjoyment of its inhabitants. Every 
one that goes before may be faid to contribute to the 
preparing of the place for them which follow after. The 
pure river of the water of life has its origin in the throne 
of God, and the Lamb ; but in its progrefs it paffes 
through various mediums, which fwell its ftreams, and 
render it more and more delectable. From the entrance 
of Abel into the New Jerufalem, to this day, it has been 
rifmg higher and higher, and will continue to do fo till 
all the nations of the faved are collected together. 

Thirdly, As fupsrintending the concerns of the wiiverfe, 
and caufing all events to work together and produce a great 
and ultimate good. — Glory awaits the righteous immedi- 
ately upon their departure from the body ; but a much 
greater glory is in referve. Innumerable events in the 
fyftem of providence muft remain inexplicable, till the 
myftery cf God be finifhed. It is impofllble for fpecta- 
tors to comprehend the ufe of all the parts of a comply 
cate machine, till it is conttructed and put into motion. 
And as our Forerunner is now preparing the fcenery o£ 
this grand exhibition, and haftening it to its defred if- 
fue, it is thus that he is preparing a place for us. 

From hence we are encouraged to be looking for, and 
halting unto the coming of the day of God, and directed 
to confider it as the period when we fhall be fully fatisji- 
ed. How folemn, and yet how fweet, is the defcription 
of it. The Lord himfdf fliaU defcend from heaven with a 
fjout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of 

God ; and the dead in Chrift Jb all rife firfi. A flmit> me- 
thinks, denotes the univerfal joy of heaven for the arrival 
of the day when the war is terminated in victory, and 
the laft enemy is deftroyed. The blowing of a trumpet* 

may probably allude to that of jubilee, on which the prifori 



2 4 Letter on the Death of Mrs. Mead. 



doors were thrown open, and the captives fet at liber- 
ty. Such were the confoiaiions prefented to the Thef- 
falonians on the death of their chriftian friends. 

Our Lord did not absolutely forbid his apoftles to weep 
at his departure : he himfelf wept at the grave of Laza- 
rus ; but he difluaded them from exeeJTive grief — Let not 
not your heart be troubled. I think that I never felt 
what may be called heart trouble, or deep diftrefs, for the 
iofs of any perfon, however near to me, whofe death I 
confidered merely as a removal to the church above. 
The words cf cur Skvicur are here applicable : If ye lov- 
ed me ye would rejerce, becaufe I go to the Father ; for my 
Father is greater than I. That is, the glory I go to pof- 
fefs wiih my Father is greater than any thing I could 
inherit upon earth ; and therefore, ii ye loved me, and 
your love operated in a prcptr way, you would rather 
be glad for my fake, tiian forry for your owl 

Prefent our kind and fympachizing regards to Mr. M. 
and all the family, and accept the fame yourfelf, from 

Your's affectionately, 

A. F. 




(0- 



De ac«ied using 

AW ° 11lW onPa fl Dnve ■ 



111 Thomson Park Drwe 
Cranberry Township, PA I606e 

(724)779-2111 



